Dubai – Mubasher: UAE-based National Central Cooling Co (Tabreed) is planning to acquire assets in Egypt and Saudi Arabia this year in a bid to expand its footprint into the two Arab nations, CEO Jasim Hussain Thabet said in an interview on Bloomberg TV.
“We’re always keen on acquisitions, and Saudi Arabia is also a potential market we’re looking at,” Thabet added.
“We’d potentially be looking at markets in North Africa and India,” he continued.
The Emirati company would fund these acquisitions from project financing and contribute about 20% to 25% of the deal value from its own cash, he said.
Tabreed has about AED 1.1 billion ($299 million) in cash and credit lines available, the CEO said, pointing out that the firm could target assets valued at about $1 billion.
Last week, Tabreed posted an 11.8% year-on-year surge in profits for the fourth quarter of 2017, as net profit amounted to about AED 109.7 million ($29.86 million) in Q4-17, versus AED 98.1 million ($26.7 million) in Q4-16.
Tabreed also recommended a cash dividend distribution of 8% or 8 fils per share of its capital for fiscal year 2017.
