https://arab.news/p3fep
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power Co.’s portfolio of assets has hit $75 billion with the firm, as it posted a 110 percent profit jump in 2022 so far, according to the firm's Vice Chairman and CEO Paddy Padmanathan.
The company is set to reach assets of $230 billion by 2030, the executive told CNBC Arabia.
While the firm’s current capacity currently stands at 42 gigawatts, there exists the capacity to increase the volume by up to three times to reach 150GW, according to Padmanathan.
Currently, the company achieves 6 million cubic meters of desalinated water, but that figure is estimated to hit 15 million cubic meters by 2030, he revealed.
ACWA Power is also currently producing up to 240,000 tons of green hydrogen, Padmanathan added.
A recent bourse filing revealed the energy giant’s profits reached SR883.4 million ($235.1 million) during the first nine months of 2022, up from SR419.9 million during the same period last year.
The rise was driven by lower costs of development, provisions, and write-offs during the current period.
It was also attributed to robust growth in ACWA Power’s operating income before impairment and other expenses, as well as lower profit on account of one-off or non-routine expenses during the same period in the year prior, according to a statement.
Operating income in the nine-month period was SR1.8 billion, an 11 percent increase by SR189 million, compared to the same period last year, which was achieved despite plant outages in four facilities.
“Our business results demonstrate our ability to stay on course despite disruptive global conditions,” said Mohammad Abunayyan, ACWA Power chairman.
“We have achieved a number of financial and project milestones over the past 9 months, supported in equal measure by our strong partnerships across geographies, including bringing China’s Silk Road Fund as co-investor in our Sirdarya CCGT project in Uzbekistan most recently.”
On Wednesday, ACWA Power signed an initial agreement with Egyptian entities to build a 10GW project to produce electricity from wind energy in the north African country.
It also signed an initial agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to finance sustainable infrastructure projects.
In September, ACWA Power signed a share purchase agreement for $130 million to sell its 49 percent stake in ACWA Power Uzbekistan Project Holding Co.
The agreement was made with CVXF Inc., a subsidiary of the Silk Road Fund of China, according to a bourse filing.
The company said the project is a 1,500 MW combined cycle gas fired power plant in Uzbekistan’s Syrdarya region, being developed by ACWA Power on a “build, own, operate, transfer" model.
Founded in 2004, ACWA Power, which is part-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is a developer, investor, co-owner and operator of a portfolio of power generation and water production factories. The firm currently has footprint in ten countries across the Middle East and North Africa region as well as Southern Africa and South East Asia.