ACWA Power’s Q3 and 9-Month 2023 Profits Surge
ACWA Power Company has announced financial results for the three and nine-month periods ending 30 September 2023. The Company recorded SAR 814 million operating income—before impairment, loss, and other expenses—in the three months ended 30 September 2023, a 25% increase from the same period last year. Higher-income both from new operations coming online and existing ones, thanks to stabilised operational performance versus last year, were the main drivers of this performance. During the quarter, the Company’s general and administrative expenses and project development cost provisions posted an increase mainly because of increased business development activity. Accordingly, operating income for the first nine months of 2023 reached SAR 2,103 million, growing by 12.4% vs. the same period last year.
The Company’s year-to-date net profit—attributable to equity holders of the parent—also increased by 22.5% versus the first nine months of 2022 and reached SAR 1,082 million. Higher operating income was the main driver, which was partially offset by the adverse impact of higher net financial charges due to higher market interest rates, as well as the Company’s additional Sukuk issuance in February this year.
The positive momentum in the Company’s business development activities accelerated in the three months ended 30 September 2023. During the period, the Company brought three solar PV projects and one desalination project in Saudi Arabia to their financial closes at an aggregate total investment cost of SAR11.1 (USD3) billion. Two of these are part of the pipeline of projects in Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy development programme, 70 percent of which has been assigned to ACWA Power to develop along with the PIF.
“This expedited activity in business development is an unmistakable sign of our investment ahead of the curve to support our accelerated growth into 2030.” said Marco Arcelli, Chief Executive Officer, ACWA Power, in his regular quarterly address to the shareholders. He added, “The prolonged and increased ripples of the high interest rate, high inflation and geopolitical conflicts environment of the past couple of years, now expected to continue well into 2024, compel us to maintain an element of caution in our expectations into the immediate and near future.”
