WAM Abu Dhabi, May 10, 2012 (WAM)--Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA), a publicly listed company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX: TAQA), today reported its Q1 2012 operational and financial results.

Carl Sheldon, Chief Executive Officer of TAQA, said: "The first quarter of 2012 has seen steady performance from our portfolio of assets, against the backdrop of a stronger global oil price and weak North American gas prices. This performance has seen revenues and EBITDA grow by 5 per cent, and our profit before tax, which incorporates the benefit of asset disposals, jump by 46 per cent.

"We remain focused on our strategy of delivering organic growth with our key projects, such as the expansion at Jorf Lasfar in Morocco, where construction of Units 5 and 6 continued on time and budget, and at Bergermeer gas storage, where last week we secured final approval from the Dutch Council of State to proceed with construction. In addition to this organic growth, we continue to seek ways of streamlining and enhancing our portfolio, and during the quarter this included the monetisation of non-core land holdings in North America at an attractive price, and acquiring acreage adjacent to our facilities in the UK North Sea.

"As a respected global operator, we are increasingly seeing more and more opportunities and the joint venture agreement that we signed with Mass Global Investments Company Limited in the Kurdistan region of Iraq to acquire a 50 per cent stake in a 1,000 MW power station at Sulaymaniyah reflects this." Stephen Kersley, Chief Financial Officer, said: "We have seen our financial performance boosted during the quarter by our new capacity at Fujairah 2 and Shuweihat 2 contributing to 5 per cent growth in our EBITDA year on year. We continue to enjoy record levels of liquidity with nearly AED 20 billion available to the business and with no significant short term refinancing requirements. While relatively small, our recent maiden Malaysian Ringgit sukuk is indicative of the increasing optionality we have in respect of financing." Total revenues for Q1 2012 were AED 5.7 billion, an increase of 5 per cent compared with Q1 2011. Total Power '&' Water revenues (excluding supplemental fuel income but including other operating revenues) increased from AED 1.7 billion in Q1 2011 to AED 1.9 billion in Q1 2012. This 13 per cent year-on-year increase was primarily due to the contribution from Fujairah 2 and Shuweihat 2.

Supplemental fuel income increased 4 per cent year-on-year due to higher fuel prices at the international plants, notably Jorf Lasfar and Takoradi, and was partly offset by lower fuel revenues at the U.A.E. subsidiaries due to lower use of back up fuel.

Total Oil '&' Gas revenues (including gas storage and other income) was flat at AED 2.9 billion in Q1 2012. This reflects continued strong production and oil prices in the UK North Sea, offset by weaker North American gas prices.

Total cost of sales increased by 3 per cent to AED 3.5 billion from AED 3.4 billion in Q1 2011. Fuel expenses were AED 959 million in the first quarter of 2012 compared with AED 925 million in 2011. Increases were mostly due to higher fuel prices at Jorf and Takoradi, and were partly offset by reductions at U.A.E. subsidiaries due to lower use of back up fuel in the current year.

Operating expenses for Power '&' Water (which excludes fuel costs) increased from AED 386 million for Q1 2011 to AED 417 million in Q1 2012 due to the addition of Shuweihat 2.

Oil '&' Gas operating expenses, including gas storage expenses, decreased from AED 844 million in Q1 2011 to AED 825 million in Q1 2012 due to lower costs in North America mainly due to lower volume, offset by higher labour expenses in the UK North Sea and stock movements in the Netherlands.

EBITDA during the period increased 5% in Q1 2012 to AED 3.4 billion. The increase was driven by strong performances in our domestic power business, primarily through the contribution of Fujairah 2 and Shuweihat 2, and in our UK and Netherlands oil and gas businesses, in part offset by the impact of weaker gas prices in our North America business.

Depreciation, Depletion and Amortisation ("DD'&'A") expenses for Power '&' Water were AED 447 million in Q1 2012 compared with AED 386 million in Q1 2011, principally due to Shuweihat 2. For Oil '&' Gas, the DD'&'A expense was effectively flat, at AED 892 million in Q1 2012.

During the period, TAQA disposed of certain non-core assets in Canada which resulted in a gain upon disposal of AED 378 million. In addition, TAQA had a bargain purchase gain of AED 92 million as a result of the change in fair values between the economic date of its initial agreement to acquire the Otter field in the UK North Sea (1 September 2009) and the legal completion date when purchase accounting was applied.

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