ADNOC Distribution, the largest fuel and convenience retailer in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), can play a role in the region’s economic transformation, its deputy chief executive told CNBC Wednesday.
“We gain and we succeed through the investment, not just of ADNOC, but across the UAE region and I think it’s very good for the region and the volume and margin growth opportunities for the future,” John Carey told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble.
“Our job within ADNOC is very clear, to deliver on the promises we made to our investors, we have brought foreign investment into the region, building that credibility, building that position, and delivering the results like we’ve done in the first quarter, that clearly is our role,” he said.
Carey’s comments come after ADNOC Distribution reported Wednesday a 12.1 percent rise in net profit for its first quarter, from the same period a year ago.
Net profit came in at 542.2 million UAE dirhams ($147.6 million) for the first quarter, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 24.9 percent year-on-year to 702.8 million UAE dirhams.
ADNOC Distribution’s deputy CEO said the latest earnings would allow the company to invest and expand.
“Based on the first-quarter results, a strong set of financial results, it gives us a really good foundation for the future,” Carey said.
ADNOC Distribution has 360 fuel retail sites in the UAE and 235 convenience stores, giving it a 67 percent retail market share. In April, the company secured a trade license to operate in Saudi Arabia.
Carey said the company was “investing heavily” in the technology it uses and the customer experience, including a 100 million UAE dirham investment in technology at its stations.
“We just opened a partnership with Géant (an UAE-based retailer) in our convenience store and we talked about delivering three new stations in Dubai this year,” he said.
ADNOC Distribution manages its parent company’s — the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company — downstream operations (the processing and distribution of crude oil and gas products).
At the weekend, the CEO of parent group ADNOC unveiled plans to invest $45 billion over the next five years to establish a leading role in the global downstream sector.
“ADNOC continues to be focused on upstream, yet this time around ADNOC will expand its business focus into downstream by creating many multi-billion dollar opportunities in the downstream. We see a huge growth opportunity in the downstream market,” Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble Sunday during an investment forum hosted by the company in Abu Dhabi.
