On Thursday, two subsidiaries of Adnoc, Adnoc Distribution and Adnoc Drilling, revealed robust first-half performance figures. Adnoc Distribution saw a 15% year-over-year surge in Q2 2024 Ebitda, reaching $267 million, and a 12.9% increase in net profit to $170 million. Adjusting for the UAE corporate tax, net profit rose by 24.5% to $187 million. The robust Q2 2024 financial results were fueled by higher fuel sales, enhanced international operations, and growth in non-fuel retail. Non-fuel retail gross profit jumped 13.5% to $56 million, boosted by the expanding car wash business, new initiatives like upgraded car washes, and improved convenience store offerings. Additional growth drivers included increased inventory gains and significant cost optimization, achieving $10 million in like-for-like OPEX savings in H1 2024.
Bader Saeed Al Lamki, CEO of Adnoc Distribution, highlighted the company's strong financial performance, emphasizing the double-digit growth in Ebitda and net profit, which underscores the effectiveness of the company's five-year strategy. Adnoc Distribution generated a robust free cash flow of $330 million in Q2 2024, a sevenfold increase from Q2 2023. For H1 2024, the free cash flow was $488 million, a 46.7% year-over-year increase, maintaining a strong balance sheet with a net debt-to-Ebitda ratio of 0.53x as of June 30, 2024. The H1 2024 dividend of $350 million is slated for distribution in October 2024, subject to board approval, in line with the company's five-year dividend policy.
Adnoc Distribution added 10 new service stations in H1 2024, expanding its network to 847 stations across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, progressing towards its goal of adding 15 to 20 stations in 2024. The company also expanded its electric vehicle (EV) charging network, opening a Mobility Hub in Masdar City and doubling its fast and super-fast charging points to over 100, aiming to reach 150 to 200 by year-end.
Meanwhile, Adnoc Drilling reported net profits of approximately $570 million in the first half of 2024. The company revised its medium-term revenue expectations to $3.85 billion for fiscal 2024, including $1.75 billion from onshore drilling, $1.1 billion from offshore drilling, $250 million from artificial islands, and $800 million from oilfield services. Youssef Salem, CFO of Adnoc Drilling, projected capital expenditures between Dh750 million and Dh950 million for 2024, driven by rig acquisitions to support Adnoc's goal of boosting production capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2027. Adnoc Drilling anticipates net profits between $1.15 billion and $1.3 billion by the end of 2024, with around $730 million expected in the second half, attributed to significant operational expansions and the full impact of recently deployed rigs.
The company's rig fleet grew to 140 rigs by mid-2024, including 95 onshore and 45 offshore rigs, up from 137 at the start of the year. The fleet is expected to reach 142 rigs by year-end and further expand to 148 rigs by 2026, in response to rising customer demand. Adnoc Drilling completed three acquisitions worth $550 million in H1 2024, with another planned in the U.S. in H2 2024, totaling $750 million for the year.
