Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) has posted revenues of Dh12.1 billion ($3.29 billion) for the first nine months of 2016, down 17 per cent over Dh14.7 billion ($4 billion) for the same period last year.

Announcing the results for the first nine months, the company said the EBITDA too fell 15 per cent to Dh6.3 billion from Dh7.4 billion a year ago.

As a result, the company recorded a net loss of Dh1.7 billion, compared to a net loss of Dh581 million during the same period in 2015. The decrease in earnings was mainly because of the 31 per cent reduction in realised oil and gas prices and the absence of the one-off Dh555 million UK tax credit booked in the first half of 2015.

On the results, Saeed Al Dhaheri, Taqa’s Acting Chief Operating Officer, said: "During the period, we delivered strong operational performance and further reduced our capex and costs base consistent with our plan, while maintaining our focus on safety."

"Despite the challenging environment, we maintained a strong liquidity position and increased our free cash flow by 25 per cent compared to the same period last year," he stated.

Taqa had launched a cost transformation programme in 2014 in response to lower commodity prices. The programme has so far generated cash cost savings in excess of Dh2.2 billion.

Cash cost savings during the nine month period reached Dh613 million compared to the same period a year ago. Furthermore, Taqa reduced its capital expenditures by 70 per cent to Dh742 million compared to the first nine months of 2015. Free cash flow increased 25 per cent to Dh5.1 billion during the period largely as a result of these savings.

The Abu Dhabi firm issued $1 billion in bonds during the first nine months of 2016. Post-period in October, the company completed an issuance totalling $750 million.

These bonds help Taqa maintain its strong liquidity position and will reduce corporate financing costs in the long term. As at 30 September 2016, it had cash, cash equivalents and undrawn credit facilities amounting to Dh15.8 billion, it stated.

Moody’s and Standard & Poor's have rated Taqa at A3 and A respectively.

Taqa’s power assets generated 64,590 gigawatt-hours (GWh) compared to 61,418 GWh in the first nine months. This five per cent growth was mainly driven by its strong performance in the UAE and Morocco.

Water desalination facilities produced 188,166 million imperial gallons (MIG) in line with 2015 production. Technical availability across the global fleet during the period increased to 93.8 per cent from 93 per cent a year ago, said the company in a statement.

Taqa said its oil and gas production decreased by 1.9 per cent to 142.2 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (mboe/d), from 144.9 mboe/d, in the same period last year.

This was mainly due to capital expenditure reductions as well as the shut-in of the non-operated Brae Alpha platform during the first quarter.

Increased access to third-party pipeline capacity and strong new well performance in North America helped offset the decline. The company reduced per-barrel operating costs by 22 per cent in Europe and 13 per cent in North America compared to first nine months of 2015, it added.-TradeArabia News Service