Latest news with #Engie
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: UAE's Tabreed, CVC in exclusive talks to buy Multiply unit, sources say
DUBAI, May 30 (Reuters) - Engie-backed National Central Cooling ( opens new tab, known as Tabreed, and CVC are in exclusive talks to buy Abu Dhabi-based Multiply Group's ( opens new tab district cooling business in a deal expected to value the unit at more than $1 billion, two sources told Reuters. Tabreed and private equity firm CVC were the top bidder for PAL Cooling Holding (PCH), the sources familiar with the matter said, adding that bilateral talks with the seller had started. One of the sources said the bid was close to $1.1 billion. The interest in PCH highlights how international buyout groups are increasingly looking to invest in the Gulf region as governments there strive to diversify their economies from oil. In a statement, Tabreed said it did not comment on market rumours or speculation, adding any material transactions would be disclosed to the market as and when they are finalised. CVC declined to comment, while Multiply Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters reported in April that CVC was working with Tabreed to jointly bid for PCH. District cooling plants, which deliver chilled water via insulated pipes to cool offices, industrial and residential buildings, have been developed as a more economical and environmentally friendly alternative to air conditioning. They are popular in the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere in the Arabian Peninsula, where summer air temperatures can soar above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). Founded in 2006, PCH has several plants in Abu Dhabi with a combined design capacity of 242,000 refrigeration tonnes, according to its website. Reuters reported in April that the sale had drawn interest from bidders including KKR, I Squared Capital, Investcorp and TAQA, and was expected to fetch about $1 billion. Multiply is controlled by IHC ( opens new tab, whose chairman is Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's national security adviser and brother of the country's president who controls a sprawling business empire including two sovereign wealth funds.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Do National Grid shares look like they're worth me buying at just under £11 after 2024/25 results?
National Grid (LSE: NG) shares are close to their 23 April post-rights issue high of £11.03. This involved the right to buy seven shares for every 24 held and ended on 10 June last year. By then, the multinational electricity and gas utility giant had secured £7bn in new funding. The current high share price may indicate that little value remains in the stock. But it may result from the business being worth more now than it was before. To find out which is true, I took a deep dive into business and ran the key numbers. The firm's full 2024/25 fiscal year results saw operating profit jump 10% to £4.934bn. Profit before tax leapt 20% to £3.65bn. And earnings per share (EPS) increased 8% to 60p. On the expenses side, capital investment geared to government-regulated infrastructure expansion rose 20% to £9.847bn. This is part of National Grid's plans to complete around £60bn of such investment in the next five years. Looking ahead, it forecasts an EPS compound annual growth rate of 6%-8% to fiscal year 2028/29. It is earnings that drive a firm's share price and dividend higher over time. National Grid currently trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.9 compared to its competitors' average of 13.5. These consist of at 8.9, Engie at 11.3, Enel at 12, and Iberdrola at 21.7. So the UK power firm is significantly overvalued on this measure. The same is true of its 2.9 price-to-sales ratio against its peers' average of 1.1. However, on the price-to-book ratio it is undervalued at 1.4 compared to its competitors' average of 2. I ran a discounted cash flow analysis to get to the bottom of the valuation. This shows National Grid shares are 23% undervalued at their present £10.89 price. Therefore, their fair value is £14.14, although various market forces could move them lower or higher. One of the previous advantages for owners of National Grid shares was its good yield. In 2023 and 2024 this averaged around 5.5%. However, in the latest results the full-year dividend was just 42.72p compared to 2024's 58.52p. This gives a yield on he current share price of just 4.3%. Moreover, analysts forecast this will remain about the same in the next three years. Reducing dividends is a red flag for me in my experience as a former senior investment bank trader and longtime private investor. Government-mandated spending on infrastructure is nothing new for big national power firms. But £60bn over five years looks a lot to me, given National Grid's already sizeable debt. Specifically, it has a net debt-to-equity ratio of 5.9 compared to the 3 or less considered healthy. Given this debt risk, I do not think the 23% undervaluation on the share price makes National Grid shares worth buying for me. The post Do National Grid shares look like they're worth me buying at just under £11 after 2024/25 results? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool Simon Watkins has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended National Grid Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025
Business Mayor
24-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Mountain marvel: how one of biggest batteries in Europe uses thousands of gallons of water to stop blackouts
S econds after a catastrophic series of power outages struck across the UK in the summer of 2019, a phone rang in the control room of the Dinorwig hydropower plant in north Wales. It was Britain's energy system operator requesting an immediate deluge of electricity to help prevent a wide-scale blackout crippling Britain's power grids. The response was swift, and in the end just under one million people were left without power for less than 45 minutes. While trains were stuck on lines for hours and hospitals had to revert to backup generators, that phone call prevented Britain's worst blackout in a decade from being far more severe. Almost six years later, the owners of Dinorwig, and its sister plant at Ffestiniog on the boundary of Eryri national park, formerly Snowdonia, are preparing to pump up to £1bn into a 10-year refurbishment of the hydropower plants that have quietly helped to keep the lights on for decades. Ffestiniog was one of the first pumped hydroelectric systems in the UK when it opened in 1963, while nearby Dinorwig – the largest and fastest-acting pumped storage station in Europe – followed in 1984. The refurbishment could mean the plants continue to provide reliable clean energy on demand for decades to come – and serve as giant grid batteries to store Britain's renewable electricity for when it is needed most. Miya Paolucci, the UK boss of the French energy company Engie, one of Dinorwig's owners, said refurbishing the plant will cost a third of the investment needed to build a new hydropower plant on a similar scale, making the overhaul an 'intuitive' decision to secure another 25 years of life from the 'much-loved' power station. Read More U.S. crude stockpiles rose 3.1M barrels last week, API says Dinorwig is known locally as Mynydd Gwefru (electric mountain). Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian Britain has used gravity and the flow of water to generate electricity since 1878, when a hydroelectric generator first powered an arc lamp at the Cragside manor house in Northumberland. The project involved dropping water 100 metres vertically to turn a Siemens generator that would go on to power a series of newly invented incandescent lightbulbs in the country house. Dinorwig and Ffestiniog use the same principles as the Cragside manor house to generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of almost 2 million UK households in a matter of seconds. When power is plentiful, the plants use electricity to pump water from a lower reservoir up to an elevated dam. Later, when power supplies are tight, the water is released to drive the turbines, generating power. Dinorwig or Mynydd Gwefru, as it is known locally, can be called upon to generate electricity within 75 seconds by releasing 86,000 gallons of water a second down a cavernous 500-metre vertical tunnel. The water crashes into six turbines, each weighing about 500 tonnes, which generate high-volume blasts of renewable power on demand. Illustration of how water is released down a tunnel from a reservoir to drive a turbine Overall, hydropower makes up only 2% of the UK's total electricity – but often at times when its electrons are at their most vital to keeping the lights on. It provides many of the key benefits of large fossil fuel power plants – but without the carbon emissions. Unlike wind and solar farms, hydropower projects can be called upon by the system operator at specific times when the grid needs more generation to meet demand. The spinning mass of its generators can also help to stabilise the frequency of the power grid at about 50Hz, the level required to avoid power outages. In the event of a blackout, hydropower can even help to restart the power system. Dinorwig is the largest and fastest-acting pumped storage station in Europe. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian But after 140 years generating electricity it is hydropower's potential as an energy storage technology that is key to its future. Pumped hydropower can effectively work as a long-duration battery by using renewable electricity when it is abundant to pump water up into a reservoir and release the water to generate electricity when renewable energy wanes. Unlike grid batteries, which are often designed to charge during the day and discharge electricity at night, long-duration energy storage systems can store energy for hours, days or even weeks so it can be used when needed. The government hopes to bring forward investment in 18GW of storage by 2035, of which 10GW should be long-duration storage such as hydropower. But pumped hydropower projects are struggling to find a place in Britain's energy landscape The control room at Dinorwig power station. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian There are geographic hurdles: there are only so many vast mountains and brimming reservoirs, and the projects can also provoke concerns within the local community. But in locations where they are viable developers have been left to wait for government officials to confirm the details of its financial support framework. One of the UK's biggest renewable energy developers, SSE, hopes that its Coire Glas project in the Scottish Highlands could be the first major pumped storage hydro scheme built in the UK in more than 40 years. The project could power 3 million homes for up to 24 hours, and would nearly double Great Britain's total current electricity storage capacity, but it needs the final details of a government support scheme before SSE can fully commit to the project. Read More Why the UK should inject some fizz into carbon capture Dinorwig can be called upon to generate electricity within 75 seconds by releasing 86,000 gallons of water a second. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian A House of Lords report published late last year warned that a large-scale rollout of long-duration energy storage technologies was 'not being treated with sufficient urgency'. The report found that a wide-scale rollout would allow more renewable power to be available, potentially lowering the overall cost of electricity for consumers. Better energy storage could, the committee said, make the grid more flexible and avoid paying to switch off wind and solar farms when there is more clean power being generated than consumers can use. Paolucci said: 'Flexible storage is essential for net zero carbon operation of Britain's electricity system. It helps balance the system by ensuring there's always a large volume of 'back-up' power on standby, that can be delivered in very fast timescales if required. We're very proud to contribute to the electricity security of supply and green energy ambition of the UK with these extraordinary assets.'
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Mountain marvel: how one of biggest batteries in Europe uses thousands of gallons of water to stop blackouts
Seconds after a catastrophic series of power outages struck across the UK in the summer of 2019, a phone rang in the control room of the Dinorwig hydropower plant in north Wales. It was Britain's energy system operator requesting an immediate deluge of electricity to help prevent a wide-scale blackout crippling Britain's power grids. The response was swift, and in the end just under million people were left without power for less than 45 minutes. While trains were stuck on lines for hours and hospitals had to revert to backup generators, that phone call prevented Britain's worst blackout in a decade from being far more severe. Almost six years later, the owners of Dinorwig, and its sister plant at Ffestiniog on the boundary of Eryri national park, formerly Snowdonia, are preparing to pump up to £1bn into a 10-year refurbishment of the hydropower plants that have quietly helped to keep the lights on for decades. Ffestiniog was one of the first pumped hydroelectric systems in the UK when it opened in 1963, while nearby Dinorwig – the largest and fastest-acting pumped storage station in Europe – followed in 1984. The refurbishment could mean the plants continue to provide reliable clean energy on demand for decades to come – and serve as giant grid batteries to store Britain's renewable electricity for when it is needed most. Miya Paolucci, the UK boss of the French energy company Engie, one of Dinorwig's owners, said refurbishing the plant will cost a third of the investment needed to build a new hydropower plant on a similar scale, making the overhaul an 'intuitive' decision to secure another 25 years of life from the 'much-loved' power station. Britain has used gravity and the flow of water to generate electricity since 1878, when a hydroelectric generator first powered an arc lamp at the Cragside manor house in Northumberland. The project involved dropping water 100 metres vertically to turn a Siemens generator that would go on to power a series of newly invented incandescent lightbulbs in the country house. Dinorwig and Ffestiniog use the same principles as the Cragside manor house to generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of almost 2 million UK households in a matter of seconds. When power is plentiful, the plants use electricity to pump water from a lower reservoir up to an elevated dam. Later, when power supplies are tight, the water is released to drive the turbines, generating power. Dinorwig or Mynydd Gwefru, as it is known locally, can be called upon to generate electricity within 75 seconds by releasing 86,000 gallons of water a second down a cavernous 500-metre vertical tunnel. The water crashes into six turbines, each weighing about 500 tonnes, which generate high-volume blasts of renewable power on demand. Overall, hydropower makes up only 2% of the UK's total electricity – but often at times when its electrons are at their most vital to keeping the lights on. It provides many of the key benefits of large fossil fuel power plants – but without the carbon emissions. Unlike wind and solar farms, hydropower projects can be called upon by the system operator at specific times when the grid needs more generation to meet demand. The spinning mass of its generators can also help to stabilise the frequency of the power grid at about 50Hz, the level required to avoid power outages. In the event of a blackout, hydropower can even help to restart the power system. But after 140 years generating electricity it is hydropower's potential as an energy storage technology that is key to its future. Pumped hydropower can effectively work as a long-duration battery by using renewable electricity when it is abundant to pump water up into a reservoir and release the water to generate electricity when renewable energy wanes. Unlike grid batteries, which are often designed to charge during the day and discharge electricity at night, long-duration energy storage systems can store energy for hours, days or even weeks so it can be used when needed. The government hopes to bring forward investment in 18GW of storage by 2035, of which 10GW should be long-duration storage such as hydropower. But pumped hydropower projects are struggling to find a place in Britain's energy landscape There are geographic hurdles: there are only so many vast mountains and brimming reservoirs, and the projects can also provoke concerns within the local community. But in locations where they are viable developers have been left to wait for government officials to confirm the details of its financial support framework. One of the UK's biggest renewable energy developers, SSE, hopes that its Coire Glas project in the Scottish Highlands could be the first major pumped storage hydro scheme built in the UK in more than 40 years. The project could power 3 million homes for up to 24 hours, and would nearly double Great Britain's total current electricity storage capacity, but it needs the final details of a government support scheme before SSE can fully commit to the project. A House of Lords report published late last year warned that a large-scale rollout of long-duration energy storage technologies was 'not being treated with sufficient urgency'. The report found that a wide-scale rollout would allow more renewable power to be available, potentially lowering the overall cost of electricity for consumers. Better energy storage could, the committee said, make the grid more flexible and avoid paying to switch off wind and solar farms when there is more clean power being generated than consumers can use. Paolucci said: 'Flexible storage is essential for net zero carbon operation of Britain's electricity system. It helps balance the system by ensuring there's always a large volume of 'back-up' power on standby, that can be delivered in very fast timescales if required. We're very proud to contribute to the electricity security of supply and green energy ambition of the UK with these extraordinary assets.'
IOL News
21-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
How Paul Mashatile's visit to France aims to boost South Africa's economic ties
Deputy president Paul Mashatile highlights South Africa's push for digital transformation, emphasizing investment in digital skills, artificial intelligence, data science, and cybersecurity to drive inclusive growth and global competitiveness. Image: file Deputy President Paul Mashatile is leading a high-level South African delegation on a working visit to France, aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and mobilising greater investment between the two countries. The delegation includes ministers, deputy ministers, senior government officials, and business leaders from both the public and private sectors. Speaking at a bilateral economic conference in France under the theme 'Advancing SA-France Economic Relations,' Mashatile highlighted the significance of enhancing trade, promoting investment, and encouraging collaboration between the two nations. He noted that the conference is 'a platform to build on this foundation, exploring new opportunities and expanding investments, trade and cooperation that will benefit our people and economies.' Mashatile reaffirmed South Africa's commitment to multilateralism, sustainable development, and global economic integration. 'We understand that by enhancing integration and collaboration with countries like France, we can promote inclusive economic growth,' he said. He pointed out that the existing trade and investment relationship between the two countries has already generated jobs and stimulated economic activity. Energy transition is a central pillar of South Africa's strategy for growth, with Mashatile highlighting the country's renewable energy potential and international backing. 'South Africa is undertaking one of the most ambitious energy transitions on the continent,' he said, referencing the country's abundant solar and wind resources and the Just Energy Transition Partnership. He welcomed the involvement of French companies such as Engie and TotalEnergies in South Africa's renewable energy procurement programs and energy storage initiatives. Mashatile also identified strategic collaboration opportunities in the extraction and beneficiation of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements. 'We are looking into our international partners, including France, to bring advanced technologies, innovation and sustainable practices in this space,' he said. He stressed the importance of strengthening healthcare systems and reducing dependency on external sources for essential medicines. Highlighting South Africa's mRNA technology hub, he welcomed partnerships with French firms to bolster vaccine manufacturing and regional health resilience. 'We welcome partnerships with French companies like Sanofi to scale local manufacturing capacity, support technology transfer and invest in regional health resilience,' he said, adding that the partnership between Sanofi and Biovac for the production of the Hexaxim vaccine and new collaborative initiatives were already underway. Mashatile also underlined the economic potential of South Africa's hemp and cannabis industries. 'SA is developing a regulatory framework that will encourage investments, research and commercialisation in this sector which has the potential to spur industrial innovation, vitalise rural economies and create thousands of jobs,' he said. 'I stress here rural economies because that's exactly where you find hemp.' He expressed appreciation for French investment in the South African economy, noting that since the first South Africa Investment Conference in 2018, French companies have committed over R70 billion to various sectors, including renewable energy, manufacturing, agribusiness, and retail. He encouraged expansion in trade by introducing more South African high-value products to the French market through missions, exhibitions, and sourcing platforms. Mashatile stressed the importance of a conducive investment climate, citing the government's commitment to regulatory reform and ease of doing business. 'We are committed to policy certainty, regulatory reform, and facilitating the ease of doing business through our one-stop shop platform. We are working across government and the private sector to resolve bottlenecks and accelerate high-impact investments,'' he said. Calling for urgency in unlocking investment, he urged senior officials to act decisively: 'Ministers, deputy ministers and DGs, let's cut to the red tape.' He announced the curation of an investment portfolio of private and public sector projects valued at forty million dollars, ready for immediate investment. To match these investment efforts, Mashatile emphasised the need for a skilled workforce. He acknowledged ongoing French support in training and internships and highlighted South Africa's National Skills Development Plan for 2030, aimed at preparing the workforce for the demands of a modern economy. 'With the increasing importance of digital technologies, South Africa is focused on developing digital skills, artificial intelligence, data science, and cybersecurity,' he said. [email protected] Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel
