Adnoc Gas shares surge record 19% in $2.5 billion IPO on ADX

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Shares in Adnoc Gas rose 19 per cent in their first day of trading on Monday in a $2.5 billion Initial Public Offering that aims to tap into growing demand for the fuel.

Adnoc Gas, the world-class integrated gas processing company, has listed and commenced the trading of its shares on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on Monday, following the successful completion of the largest-ever initial public offering (IPO) on the ADX and the largest IPO globally to date this year.

The IPO, which raised gross proceeds of approximately $2.5 billion (equivalent to approximately Dhs9.1 billion) through the offering by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company of approximately 5% of the Company’s total issued share capital (the “Offering”), commanded the strongest-ever demand for an IPO in the UAE, with total gross demand across all tranches of the Offering amounting to over $124 billion (equivalent to over Dhs 450 billion), implying an oversubscription level in excess of 50 times in aggregate.

The Offering also attracted unprecedented demand from international institutional investors (excluding the UAE), who generated approximately $25 billion (equivalent to approximately Dhs 92 billion) in orders for the IPO – approximately 10 times the total Offering size.

Through the landmark IPO of Adnoc Gas, local and international investors have been provided the opportunity to own shares in a world-class, large-scale integrated gas processing company operating across the gas value chain. Adnoc Gas has access to 95% of the UAE’s natural gas reserves, which are estimated to be the 7th largest natural gas reserves globally, and it supplies over 60% of the UAE’s sales gas needs as well as possessing a diverse customer base in over 20 countries. Recording an Adjusted Revenue (as defined in the International Offering Memorandum) of $21.1 billion and net income of $4.2 billion (each for the ten months ended 31 October 2022), the Company is well-positioned to capitalize on increasing global demand for natural gas to support its growth strategy and future dividend commitments.

The Company is targeting to pay dividends of $1.625 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 in respect of the first half of the year ended 31 December 2023 and a further $1.625 billion in the second quarter of 2024 in respect of the second half of the year ended 31 December 2023. Thereafter, the Company expects to grow its annual target dividend amount from $3,250 million (which is equal to the annualized dividend for the year ended 31 December 2023) by a growth rate of 5% per annum on a dividend per share basis over the period 2024-2027.

 Hisham Khalid Malak, Chairman of ADX, said: “The Abu Dhabi capital market has remained highly active, building on the strong IPO and listing momentum garnered over 2022, despite the muted global outlook. With the UAE and Emirate positioned firmly on the global investment map, ADX continues to attract record levels of interest and demand from institutional and international investors. Adnoc Gas’ highly successful IPO is not only testament to the company’s strong growth and value proposition, but also speaks to the strong confidence in the Emirate’s robust market fundamentals and status as a premier investment destination. Looking ahead, ADX continues to be buoyed by a strong pipeline of listings that will serve to strengthen and broaden its offering, enhance its central role in supporting the UAE’s economic growth and ability to attract institutional capital and foreign direct investment.”

Speaking at the opening bell-ringing ceremony, Fatema Al Nuaimi, Adnoc Gas Board Director and EVP Downstream Business Management at Adnoc, said: “Today is a truly proud and exciting milestone for everyone at Adnoc, and a historic occasion for Adnoc Gas and the nation. Demand for the Adnoc Gas IPO – the largest IPO globally to date this year – has been unprecedented, drawing record demand from retail investors as well as local and global institutional investors. The level of interest received in the UAE and abroad demonstrates a very clear and well-understood track-record of performance at Adnoc Gas and, more importantly, a confidence that the Company is well-positioned to capitalize on future growth, delivered in a sustainable manner.”

Ahmed Alebri, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Adnoc Gas, added: “This milestone has been made possible by the unwavering dedication and commitment of our people across Adnoc Gas. Their focus on continually delivering for our customers has resulted in stellar financial and operational performance thus far, which investors clearly appreciate. As Adnoc Gas moves into life as a listed company, we remain focused on our clear growth strategy, underpinned by upstream capacity expansion, which will allow us to process and deliver increased volumes to customers, further enhancement of our product mix and ensuring we deliver for our growing number of international customers as demand for gas continues to increase.”

Saeed Hamad Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ADX, said: “By welcoming the world’s largest IPO this year to our platform – and ADX’s largest-ever IPO – we continue to demonstrate our ability to attract top-tier issuers, providing them with a transparent and dynamic platform through which they can catalyse their growth.”