RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s utility service provider ACWA Power has reported a net profit of SR1.5 billion ($411 million) in 2022, up 103 percent from the previous year, according to a bourse filing. In 2021, the Public Investment Fund-backed firm reported a net profit of SR758.8 million. The bourse filing further noted that the company’s fourth-quarter net profit after zakat and tax surged 94 percent to SR656.6 million, compared to SR338.85 million in the prior-year period. Compared to the third quarter of 2022, ACWA Power’s net profit climbed 92.2 percent from SR341.70 million. The filing also showed that earnings per share touched SR2.11 in 2022 versus SR1.04 in the year-earlier period. In 2022, the utility firm’s operating profit rose to SR2.61 billion, up 13.5 percent compared to 2021. According to the bourse statement, the firm’s financial results in 2022 were backed by higher operating income before impairment and other expenses. Last year, the total comprehensive income of ACWA Power stood at SR5.7 billion, up 189 percent compared to the previous year. The profits were also driven by higher contributions from development and construction management services for the projects which achieved financial close last year, adequately supported by lower project development costs. Expanding its global footprint Meanwhile, ACWA Power last month signed an agreement for a new giga-scale green hydrogen project to expand its Indonesian portfolio. According to a statement, the water and power utility major entered into a memorandum of understanding with the chemical manufacturing firm Pupuk Indonesia to develop the project. In January, the company signed an agreement to develop Uzbekistan’s first green hydrogen and ammonia facilities. The agreement was signed with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy and Uzkimyosanoat, a state-owned chemicals company, with a targeted commissioning date of December 2024. The project would be connected to an existing ammonia plant in Chirchiq, 45 kilometers from the country’s capital Tashkent. It is expected to generate 3,000 tons of green hydrogen a year. Earlier in October 2022, during an exclusive interview with Arab News, ACWA Power CEO Paddy Padmanathan revealed that the company intends to invest $10 billion in renewables, including green hydrogen, in South Africa over the next five years. He added that ACWA Power can increase the pace of investments to $25 billion by 2030 if the South African government facilitates the opportunity.