DEWA Q1’26 First Take: A strong print driven by robust utilities demand & better cost performance

Research evidence excerpt

DEWA Q1’26 First Take: A strong print driven by robust utilities demand & better cost performance

Anna Antonova, CFA AC CEEMEA Equity Research

(971) 4428-1766 12 May 2026 J P M O R G A N

anna.antonova@jpmorgan.com

Investment Thesis, Valuation and Risks

DEWA (Overweight; Price Target: Dh3.30)

Investment Thesis

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is a vertically-integrated utility company

and the exclusive provider of electricity and potable water in the Emirate of Dubai. The

group operates well-invested, long-life assets across the whole value chain and has a number

of subsidiaries, including an 80%-owned district cooling services provider Empower. As

the Emirate’s utility champion, DEWA is both integral to, and benefits from, Dubai’s

economic growth and it is also instrumental in achieving Dubai’s energy transition targets.

In the medium term, the group plans to grow its gross installed power capacity to c. 23GW

by 2030 (of which 8.3GW or 36% will be from renewable sources) and increase gross

desalinated water capacity by ~50% to to 735MIGD. DEWA enjoys cost-reflective tariffs

with fuel cost pass-through and long-term supply agreement for gas, which supports high

profitability of operations, translates into a highly visible cash-flow profile and backs an

attractive and highly visible dividend policy. DEWA’s valuation currently screens as

inexpensive vs main peers and we thus assign an Overweight rating.

Valuation

Our Dec’27 price target (rounded to the nearest decimal) is calculated using a SOTP method,

which combines a DCF-based valuation of DEWA’s electricity and water assets (utilising

earnings forecasts until 2040, a WACC of 11.0% and a long-term growth rate of 3.0%) and

the equity value of an attributable 80% stake in listed subsidiary Empower using our