Saudi-listed Acwa Power, the world’s largest private water desalination company, and a leader in energy transition and first mover into green hydrogen, today (February 29) delivered solid results for FY 2023 posting a record net profit of SAR1.66 billion ($442 million), up 8% over the previous year, supported by higher operating income.

 

Announcing the financial results for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2023, Acwa said it operating income - before impairment, loss and other expenses - for the full year of 2023 was 14% higher compared to the previous year and stood at SAR2.98 billion ($772 million).

 

Higher plant availability in existing assets with the successful roll-out of the reliability of supply programme, contributions from new projects with more assets achieving commercial operations and higher development and management fees were the main drivers behind the increase in the operating income. 

 

This was partially offset by higher corporate general and administration expenses and lower performance liquidated damages and insurance recoveries during 2023, it stated. 

 

Acwa Power's key highlights in FY 2023 included the addition of a record 10.7GW of power generation capacity of which 66% was exclusively through renewable sources.

 

It also achieved 12 financial closes with a total funding raise of around SAR 60 billion, the highest in Acwa Power’s history

 

On the excellent performance, CEO Marco Arcelli said: "I am really proud of the Acwa Power team, who demonstrated once again our ingenuity to deliver sustainable, reliable and affordable access to energy and water and make an impact to all the communities we serve."

 

"Our strong performance in 2023 is another step towards our ultimate goal to triple the size of our business by the end of the decade. With our continued focus on innovation, operational excellence, and strategic partnerships, we are doubling down on our efforts to lead the energy transition globally, while supporting Saudi Arabia to deliver one of the most ambitious decarbonisation programmes in the world under Vision 2030,” he added.

 

Chief Financial Officer  Abdulhameed AlMuhaidib said: "Acwa Power’s results in 2023 is a demonstration of our strong business model fundamentals and the resilience of our balance sheet against high interest rate and inflation environment."

 

"Robust earnings growth, supported by strong operational results, is a testament to the dedication of our team and the effectiveness of our strategic direction and portfolio diversification. This underscores our commitment to deliver stakeholder value with unprecedented growth and healthy returns," he added.

 

The company recently announced its growth ambition to triple its assets under management by 2030. With 4 financial closes in the fourth quarter, Acwa Power had achieved a record total of 12 financial closes with a total funds raise of SAR60 billion in a single year, which includes the landmark NEOM Green Hydrogen Project.

 

In the same period, the company has achieved another record by signing a total of 16 offtake agreements, including 13 Power Purchase Agreements with a total capacity of 10.7GW where over 66% of the new capacity is renewable. 

 

With this, Acwa Power’s total aggregate power capacity of the operational, under construction and in advanced development projects around 55GW, with over 24GW, or 44.5% of the total, in renewables. 

 

During the 12-month period, two water purchase agreements were also signed, which added 1.4 million cu m/day to the portfolio and bringing the total water desalination capacity to 7.6 million cu m/day of desalinated water making Acwa Power the largest private water desalination company in the world.

 

The company also broke ground for its second green hydrogen project in Uzbekistan in its drive to scale-up its first mover advantage in green fuels. 

 

The period also witnessed an increase in Acwa Power’s operating portfolio with 11 projects achieving partial or full commercial operations bringing around 5GW of power and 979,000 m3/day of desalinated water online, it added.-TradeArabia News Service