ABU DHABI, 8th May, 2013 (WAM) -- TAQA, the global energy company based in Abu Dhabi, today reported its operational and financial results for Q1 2013, showing a revenue of AED 5.4 billion, 6 percent lower compared with revenues of AED 5.7 billion in Q1 2012.
The cost of sales, excluding construction expenses, were AED 3.5 billion in Q1 2013, an increase of 1% over the previous year. The 6 percent fall in revenue was largely due to a shut-in of the Cormorant Alpha platform in January 2013 during a major inspection, repair and maintenance programme. Stronger North American gas prices were offset by weaker North American oil and liquids prices. Profitability was consequently impacted, although in the comparable period in 2012, profitability was supported by the proceeds of disposals, making direct comparison difficult. Power & Water faced operational challenges, due to a number of forced outages at TAQA?s domestic and international plants. TAQA?s organic growth projects are proceeding well, with Jorf Lasfar over 80% complete and Takoradi having broken ground. TAQA is also progressing detailed negotiations to enter the Turkish energy market, following an agreement between the Turkish and UAE Governments. Notwithstanding the shut-in of Cormorant Alpha, which is still on-going, TAQA made good progress in other areas of the North Sea, including making a discovery at the Darwin field and, post-period, securing government approval for its plans at the Cladhan field. A strong performance in the Netherlands also positively boosted TAQA?s performance. Meanwhile, TAQA has commenced operations at its Atrush block in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and is currently drilling its third well. TAQA reinforced its strong financial position with robust available liquidity of AED 21.8 billion and, post period, Standard & Poor?s announced that it was raising TAQA?s A rating to a positive outlook. Carl Sheldon, Chief Executive Officer of TAQA, said: "I can take some positives from what was a challenging quarter. Our major construction and development projects in Morocco, Ghana, the Netherlands and Iraq are all progressing very well and will start generating significant revenues in the next two to three years. Stronger natural gas prices in North America position us well to take advantage of our large land position and prospects in western Canada. Similarly, new developments and discoveries in our North Sea business promise to extend the life of these assets. The halting of production on the Cormorant Alpha platform was the right thing to do to ensure the safety and integrity of this critical piece of North Sea infrastructure." Stephen Kersley, Chief Financial Officer, said: "The outlook remains strong with increased liquidity and an enhanced debt maturity profile. Although our financial performance has been affected by operational outages, our cash flows remain extremely strong and we are well placed to benefit as those operational issues are resolved. I am also delighted that the strength of our cash flow has been recognised by Standard & Poor's, which recently raised our A rating to a positive outlook. "Power & Water revenues, excluding supplemental fuel and construction revenues, were flat at AED 1.9 billion. Construction and Finance revenues from the Jorf Lasfar and Takoradi 2 expansion projects of AED 517 million were offset by construction costs of AED 381 million, leaving a profit margin of AED 136 million. Supplemental fuel income decreased 31% year-on-year to AED 658 million. Operating expenses for Power & Water (which excludes fuel costs and construction costs) rose 15% year-on-year to AED 468 million in Q1 2013, due to an unplanned outage at Jorf Lasfar and higher costs at Taweelah in the UAE. Depreciation, Depletion and Amortisation ("DD&A") expenses for Power & Water rose 2% to AED 455 million in Q1 2013, compared with AED 447 million in Q1 2012. Total Oil & Gas revenues (including gas storage and other income) were down 17% at AED 2.4 billion for Q1 2013, due to lower production in the UK North Sea, offset by higher production in the Netherlands and stronger gas prices in North America. Oil & Gas expenses rose from AED 812 million in Q1 2012 to AED 1.0 billion in Q1 2013, principally due to higher repair and maintenance costs in the UK. Oil & Gas Depreciation, Depletion and Amortisation (DD&A) expense increased by 2% to AED 907 million in Q1 2013, reflecting a higher DD&A rate in North America, due to future development costs, and an amendment of reserves in the North Sea offset by the impact of lower production. --more--Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2013.
