Abu Dhabi's Taqa posts $5.2 billion loss on oil asset write-off

DUBAI (Bloomberg) -- Abu Dhabi National Energy Co reported its biggest loss on record as the state-controlled power and oil company wrote down the value of oil assets after prices slumped.

The loss widened to 19 billion dirhams ($5.2 billion) last year from 1.8 billion dirhams in 2015, the company known as Taqa said in a statement. It booked an impairment of 16.9 billion dirhams, mainly related to its oil and gas assets, “which is a one-time, non-cash charge” that has no impact on its ability to repay debt. Revenue fell 17% to 16.1 billion dirhams.

Abu Dhabi, holder of about 6% of global oil reserves, is reorganizing and merging several of its companies to help save costs as it grapples with an about 50% slump in oil prices since the middle of 2014. Taqa’s two-year transformation program saved 13.2 billion dirhams, including a capital expenditure cut of 8.6 billion dirhams and a 25% reduction in global headcount or more than 1,000 positions.

The energy producer also signed a land-lease agreement valued at 18.7 billion dirhams. The land lease “avoids any share recapitalization or dilution of the existing shareholders, and provides a greater opportunity for Taqa shareholders to realize long-term value from their investments,” Chairman Saeed Mubarak Al-Hajeri said.

Taqa, which operates in 11 countries, won’t pay a dividend for 2016. The shares are unchanged over the past year, giving the company a market value of 2.8 billion dirhams.