National Marine Dredging Company (ADX: NMDC) has established its global credentials as one of the leading Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) and Marine Dredging groups by achieving a record net profit of AED one billion in 2021. This surpasses industry estimates and positions The Group as one of the world’s most profitable and fastest-growing EPC majors.
As the industry gains momentum following the pandemic, NMDC’s extraordinary growth will be powered by aggressive plans for geographic growth, securing unique and strategic projects, business diversification, as well as mergers and acquisitions that will strengthen its profitability and return on investment. This strategy will be driven by a focus on cost optimization, supply chain management, resource use efficiency, and increased productivity across all levels.
The Group has significant ongoing contracts, valued at over AED 40 billion across eight countries globally, including in the GCC, Middle east, Egypt, North Africa, India and Maldives. More projects are upcoming in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Europe, which highlight the confidence of the industry and clients in the Group’s competencies, adding to its reputation as a global EPC company.
Highlighting the Group as a global industry leader, NMDC’s net profit for FY2021 increased more than 8x compared to AED 107 million in 2020. The total revenue (turnover) increased 78 percent to AED 7.889 billion compared to the full-year turnover of AED 4.424 billion in 2020. The total assets of the Group are now at AED 12.9 billion, a growth of 75 percent over the total assets in 2020 at AED7.4 billion. With a market capitalisation of around AED 11 billion, the Earnings Per Share (EPS) was AED 1.26 in 2021 compared to AED 0.19 in 2020.
In the fourth quarter (October to December) of 2021, the Group achieved a net profit of AED 501 million, 86 percent higher than in Q3 (July to September), and revenue of AED 2.51 billion, a growth of 19 percent over Q3 revenue of AED 2.11 billion. The Group won 5 contracts in the last three months of the year, valued at AED 15.21 billion.
A specialist global marine and energy EPC company
In a record time of just one year, the Group has transformed to become a specialist global marine and energy EPC company. Today, the strategic areas of operation that the Group focuses on include: Dredging & Marine Civil, covering dredging fleet, civil and port development; and Energy, covering downstream, onshore, renewable energy, energy transition and maintenance & turnaround, in addition to shared initiatives such as survey & subsea and decommissioning and heavy lift.
NMDC has also developed exceptional capabilities in energy EPC, for offshore and onshore construction and the maintenance of oil and gas facilities. It has expanded its marine contracting operations through aggressive expansion for the construction and maintenance of ports, waterways, and near-water structures. The Group is also strengthening its specialist marine services with offshore logistics and services as well as for testing the conditions for construction and maintenance.
Strategies that drive long-term growth
His Excellency Mohamed Thani Murshed Ghannam Alrumaithi, the Chairman, said: “The strong financial results achieved by the Group is a clear demonstration of the success of our strategy to be a global leader in providing EPC services for the energy and marine sector. We have steadily enhanced our international footprint and the Group is today regarded as one of the leaders in our sector. We are driven by our strategy to grow returns through access to new markets and segments, and by generating new revenue streams. We will realise the full synergies that the Group has gained through the acquisition of NPCC, and deliver the highest standards of project management.”
Eng. Yasser Zaghloul, Group CEO, added: “Our impressive financial results in 2021 are a true testament to the Group’s strategic and consistent efforts in leading the market and the industry globally. We have demonstrated exceptional resilience to the challenging market environment, and we will continue to work to achieve our ambitious expansion plans regionally and internationally. Our results have exceeded market forecasts highlighting the success of our business model of expanding to markets across MENA, South Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, India and other countries across South Asia.”
He added: “Moving forward, we will continue to be inspired by the leadership of the UAE and focus on supporting the nation’s energy transition plans. We aim to deliver end-to-end EPC services, onshore and offshore, through a balanced organic and acquisitive development of new capabilities in downstream, renewable and subsea, among others. We are also partnering with established global players in hydrogen and carbon capture. The business diversification and geographic expansion will add exceptional value to our stakeholders.”
A leader in integrated EPC services
The Group’s robust financial performance, despite the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its variants, highlights the successful expansion of its geographic footprint and strengthen industry partnerships to evolve as the region’s leading integrated EPC services provider for the marine and energy sector.
This is highlighted by the company’s exceptional track record of delivering 72 projects in 2021 in addition to winning 17 projects in the UAE and several international markets. The Group’s strategic diversification will focus on building exceptional capabilities in offshore downstream, onshore upstream & downstream, dredging and land reclamation, marine civil works, superstructures of berths and quay walls, ports, bridges, dams, canals, and offshore logistics including heavy lift, subsea engineering, vessels, geophysical and marine surveying, and the whole array of maintenance and turnaround services.
The Group’s operations are fully aligned with the highest standards of health, safety and environment, with further capabilities being built to drive renewable energy and energy transition plans, especially as the UAE prepares to host UNFCCC’s Conference of the Parties (COP28) in 2023.
Among the Group’s strategic wins in 2021 include the AED 1.355 billion contract from Abu Dhabi, Ports for the design, construction, and engineering of the Shamal Development marine works at Khalifa Port. NMDC was also awarded an AED 290 million contract for the deepening and development of the sea lane of Damietta Port in Egypt.
Further, ADNOC has awarded a contract to NPCC valued at AED 1,89 billion to cover EPC services for four offshore wellhead towers, pipelines, and umbilicals in Hair Dalma, Satah, and Bu Haseer fields. NPCC also won an AED 2.73 billion contract from Yasat Petroleum Operations, an ADNOC subsidiary, for the full-field development of the Belbazem Offshore Block. Towards the end of 2021, NPCC was awarded a major AED 8.2 billion contract by Saudi Aramco for works related to the Zulf marine field in the Kingdom.
NMCD recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Dredging Corporation of India Limited (DCI), to develop business opportunities and expand footprint in the Sub-continent, GCC, Africa and beyond. NPCC also signed a MoU with Petrojet for exploring EPC services that will enhance the Group’s geographic footprint. In another key partnership, NPCC signed an MoU with Technip Energies to advance the energy transition and enhance cooperation in blue and green hydrogen and related decarbonisation projects in the UAE and MENA region.
