Good day and welcome to the ADNOC Distribution Q4 2024 Earnings Call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Athmane Benzerroug. Please go ahead, sir.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to ADNOC Distribution 2024 Earnings Call. I'm Athmane Benzerroug, Chief Strategy Transformation and Sustainability Officer. Joining me today, Bader Al Lamki, our CEO, and Ali Siddiqi, Acting CFO. In today's call, our CEO will start with key achievements and speak about the company's outlook. I will discuss progress on our growth strategy. Then, Ali will take you through operating and financial results. After the presentation, we will turn to Q&A. This presentation includes forward-looking statements relating to our business. Such statements involve a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. For more information, please refer to the international offering memorandum relating to our IPO and to other investor communications, all of which are available on our website.
I will now hand over to our CEO, Bader Al Lamki, who will walk you through the key achievements and outlook.
Thank you, Athmane, and good afternoon, good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. I would like to start with our key priority: safety, which is deeply embedded in our values. In 2024, ADNOC Distribution demonstrated again unwavering commitment to 100% HSE and will continue to follow the highest safety standards in the delivery of its products and services. Sustainability is embedded in our day-to-day operations. Last month, we announced phase II of our solarization program, with panels to be installed at more than 100 service stations across Abu Dhabi, four times the number of the stations that have been covered in Dubai.
I'm also pleased to share that ADNOC Distribution continued to enhance its ESG scores and was rated above industry average by key ESG rating agencies, including S&P Global, MSCI, and FTSE. It is my pleasure to present to you today our key 2024 achievements. We delivered a record EBITDA, an underlying EBITDA supported by highest fuel volumes sold ever, significant growth in non-fuel retail, and increasing contributions from our international operations, including KSA and Egypt. In 2024, ADNOC Distribution generated a record 29% return on capital employed. This was driven by efficient capital allocation and demonstrates our continued focus on value creation. We continue making strong progress toward our five-year strategy, leveraging the 2024 momentum to drive growth through key initiatives. Number one, boosting our non-fuel transactions. Our goal is a 50% increase by 2028, with above 10% growth achieved in 2024, reinforcing the strong momentum. Secondly, expanding our network.
We target 1,000 stations by 2028, after growing to nearly 900 stations last year. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we've reached a milestone of 100 service stations, including 30 new contracted sites that will operate under our brand following the upgrades. Thirdly, scaling EV charging. In 2024, we grew fast and super fast charging points by over 4x , aligning with our 10- 15 x growth targets by 2028. This is a strategic move, ensuring the right infrastructure for EV drivers and meeting rising demand in the UAE. Further, enhancing efficiency. Last year, we've reduced OPEX on a like-for-like basis by $18 million, progressing towards our $50 million saving goal over five years. We continue to unlock value from our network by optimizing assets and real estate. Our goal is to maximize cash generation from our most valuable assets, the land and the property.
Last year, we made strong progress in property management. We now operate 12 Burger King and are on track to reach 50 franchising operations by 2028. Our franchising model generates 2.5 x the profit score of convenience retail, with a target of 3x by 2028. We are building a high-quality retail mix by attracting top brands like McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, Domino's, Starbucks, and Alb aik. As anchor tenants, they drive footfall, increase customers' dwell time, and boost spending across the UAE's largest network. This positions our stations as vibrant real estate destinations and key convenience hubs. Our non-fuel retail strategy is gaining momentum with new initiatives, including new food and beverage offerings, car wash upgrades, and introduction of car care centers.
We are very excited about the potential of ADNOC Rewards loyalty program, which offers significant data insights that we will deploy for further monetization across the entire retail business. Today, non-fuel retail is growing faster than the fuel business. We aim to unlock the potential and further grow non-fuel contribution to our earnings and cash flows. We feel very good about the success of our ADNOC Rewards loyalty program, which was launched in July 2020. It is one of the most popular loyalty programs in the United Arab Emirates, with over 120 partners with a range of attractive offers. It has now achieved 2.3 million members after a circa of 20% growth last year. Our ADNOC Rewards program is a key driver of incremental growth through enhanced customer experience and loyalty. Customers are more likely to make additional purchases when they feel valued and rewarded.
Moreover, by leveraging AI and advanced technologies, ADNOC Rewards offers seamless digital experience that enhances customer satisfaction and convenience. The program supports the company's strategy of doubling down on non-fuel retail and transforming service stations into destinations of choice. After a strong 2024, we are set for continued growth in 2025, driven by volume momentum, expansion in non-fuel retail, rising international contribution, and ongoing efficiency gains. New management initiatives will further enhance profitability and operations. Our key 2025 targets include expanding our network. In 2025, we plan to add 40-50 new stations, including 30-40 in Saudi Arabia under a capitalized dealer-owned company-operated model. This builds on our strong 2024 performance, where we added 59 stations exceeding market guidance. Secondly, we are scaling up our EV infrastructure.
We will add nearly 100 EV charging points at strategic locations across the United Arab Emirates, expanding in line with the EV adaptation utilization rate and on-the-go charging demand. Investing for growth. In 2025, our CAPEX of $250 million-$300 million w ill be focused on sustainable growth, non-fuel retail upgrades, technology, and EV charging. We continue to explore value acquisition, leveraging our strong cash flow and balance sheet to fund further expansion. I will now hand over to Athmane, who will walk you through the delivery of our growth strategy.
Thank you, Bader. Let me speak in more detail about the progress we have made towards achieving our growth plans. We have been leveraging on sustained momentum in the region's economic activities and strong mobility trends to deliver record high volumes to our customers.
Last year, volume increased by 9% to exceed 15 billion liters across retail, commercial, and aviation. We have expanded our network, gained market share, and saw higher contribution from our operations in KSA and Egypt. As mentioned by our CEO, we have contracted 30 stations in Saudi under CAPEX-light dealer-owned company-operated model. Let me explain to you what this model offers to our company. First of all, as a station operator, ADNOC Distribution is entitled to a pre-agreed share of fuel retail margins and non-fuel retail revenue. Secondly, it is important to highlight that we do not CAPEX to rebrand and upgrade. This is performed by a station owner, resulting in a significant value accretion for ADNOC Distribution. We expect growth in the dynamic Saudi market to continue and plan to add 30-40 new stations under DOCO model in 2025.
Over the next five years, we plan to grow EV charging points by 10- 15x from 2023 levels. In 2025, our network will expand by 100 charging points or by 50%. Deployment of chargers is adjusted on a quarterly basis on actual EV adoption and best-in-class technology. With premium margins and high-quality offerings, we aim to match fuel business profitability in EV charging, assuming the on-the-go charging captures 20% of EV charging demand. This will be achieved by providing the most accessible, available, and convenient charging network in the UAE, similarly integrated with our rewards app for an optimal customer experience. Additionally, longer EV charging wait times are expected to drive higher conversion rates to non-fuel retail, further enhancing revenue opportunities. Non-fuel retail is a key pillar of our growth strategy. It includes convenience stores, car care services, and property management.
While fuel demand grows with economic and population trends, non-fuel presents greater upside, supported by new strategic initiatives. We aim to expand our market-leading fuel convenience platform into the number one multi-energy mobility retailer in the UAE, leveraging our car wash, lube change, and property footprint. We are creating a one-stop destination for our customers. We continue to enhance our network, providing a seamless fueling and EV charging experience, personalized offerings, and modernized convenience stores. Our F&B options are expanding. Car wash and car services are being upgraded, and we are adding more quick-service restaurants, giving customers more reasons to choose us and keep coming back. Non-fuel retail segment achieved strong double-digit growth outpacing fuel. As highlighted by our CEO, non-fuel retail transactions grew by 10%, driving a 13% increase in gross profit.
Convenience store gross profit was 16% higher, supported by record conversion rates in five years, larger basket size, and high margin sets. Non-fuel retail growth was partially driven by an increase in fuel transactions and stronger fuel-to-non-fuel conversion. As we enhance our customer offering, more customers will visit our C-stores, now evolving into food-venience destinations. A prime example, barista-prepared drinks demonstrated growth of 33% last year. We have further enhanced digital marketing and cross-selling, with more users taking advantage of attractive offers in our app and visiting convenience stores more frequently. Notably, EV drivers convert to non-fuel 2.5x more than fuel customers, a trend that underscores EV charging and non-fuel retail as complementary growth drivers. We expect high potential in non-fuel retail and expect it to contribute more meaningfully to our earnings in the future.
We are doubling down on our NFR strategy by, first of all, reinventing store experience for our customers as food-venience destination with attractive food and beverage offerings. Two, creating a one-stop shop for car care services. And thirdly, enhancing real estate returns by attracting more quick-service restaurant brands into our network, optimizing tenant mix and existing sites. Our network includes over 500 convenience stores with 17 new additions in 2024, including five standalone stores to capture NFR growth opportunities outside our service stations and expand outreach of the Oasis value proposition. We have seen higher footfall and margins following the upscaling of our stores, with 90% now new or upgraded. In food and beverage, growth is driven by coffee volumes and new launches like gourmet sandwiches, matcha, and refreshments. Our Oasis brand remains the leading in FMCG within fuel convenience in the UAE.
We are now taking our C-stores to the next level with three key initiatives. First of all, personalization and private label. Leveraging our customer database to drive targeted offers and launching a private label and the Oasis brand to enhance quality perception and boost sales. Two, higher conversion rate, introducing dedicated service personnel for fueling customers, driving a 100%- plus basis points increase in conversion. In Q4 2024, our conversion rate is around 28%, the highest in five years. Thirdly, advanced technology and data, utilizing insights from 2.3 million ADNOC Rewards members to deliver personalized offers and enhance engagement. 2024 was a year of growth for the car wash business, with a notable double-digit increase in the volumes. We continued our upgrade program for automatic car wash network by incorporating new machines and enhancing visual elements to offer a faster and a superior wash experience to our customers.
Our new tiered menu on the upgraded sites offers a bigger number of options for consumers with premium wash options. We have launched five high-capacity tunnels, which are among the fastest and most advanced facilities in the UAE. These state-of-the-art centers utilize the latest technology to ensure efficient, sustainable, and fast washing. Turning to lube change business at our stations, we have advanced in upgrading and utilizing our operations, leveraging AI to minimize downtime, improve product availability, and boost revenues. To ensure service excellence, we continuously train our salesforce at scaling their technical capabilities. New marketing campaigns and packaged offers, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum bundles, enhance our car care value proposition, covering lube change, car wash, and full service options. With our new car care center model, we are transitioning from tenancy to a revenue-sharing model, maximizing profitability.
Third-party garage specialists operate the centers, providing us with 100% of lube change revenues and pre-agreed share for additional services. Our goal is to become the leading car care service operator in the UAE, expanding lube change centers, opening new locations, and rolling out car care centers concept across our network. Now, I would like to share key updates on our property and franchise division as we continue transforming our stations into destinations of choice. Our growth is driven by three key initiatives. Number one, Fill-Up. In 2024, we opened more than 100 new shops, boosting tier-one station occupancy above 90%. This reflects our commitment to enhancing customer experience with a stronger retail mix. Number two, Trade-Off. We are optimizing tenant selection, having already upgraded 50% of identified mismatches across more than 50 sites in our ongoing journey to have high-performing tenants at all locations. Number three, Bid-Up.
To maximize asset potential, we are developing quick-service restaurants and supermarkets on a new slot. Through Fill-Up, Trade-Off, and Bid-Up, we continue to accelerate growth, reinforcing our commitment to transforming our sites into customer-focused destinations. As a core part of our growth strategy, we are using AI and advanced data analytics to drive top-line growth, efficiency, and deliver exceptional customer experience. We are using cutting-edge AI cloud technology to analyze 240 million annual fuel and non-fuel transactions, along with external data sources, to develop advanced models to create business opportunities. I will now hand over to Ali to present the highlights of our financial performance. Over to you, Ali.
Thanks, Athmane. Good morning and good afternoon, everyone. 2024 was a strong year in which ADNOC Distribution delivered a price-driven EBITDA of $1.05 billion. Our headline EBITDA grew by 5% versus 2023, despite inventory gains being lower by $23 million.
Underlying EBITDA, excluding inventory gains and one-off items, increased by more than 11% versus the prior year. 2024 headline net profit of $659 million includes inaugural UAE tax charge of $66 million. Our net profit, if adjusted for the tax charge, grew by 2%, and if further adjusted for inventory gains and one-off items, it increased by 12% versus the prior year. We are well on course to deliver our strategic objectives. This double-digit growth in underlying profitability demonstrates strength of ADNOC Distribution's business and strong fundamentals. We delivered significant volume growth across both the retail and commercial segments. This was driven by network expansion, higher fidelity, a customer value proposition, sustained momentum in the region's economic growth, and higher contribution from international operations.
Growth of 10% in non-fuel transactions, which was double versus the growth in fuel transactions, demonstrates and reaffirms the strength of our NFR offering and success of our loyalty program. Let me now walk you through the gross profit by operating segment. Retail fuel's gross profit increased by 3%, driven by volume growth, partially offset by lower inventory gains. In 2024, we recorded retail segment inventory gains of $75 million compared to $91 million in the prior year. Commercial segment gross profit increased by 30% year-on-year, supported by strong volume growth and margin management, and was also partially offset by inventory gains. Our non-fuel retail gross profit increased at the double-digit rate of more than 12%, driven notably by the successful delivery of new initiatives in our convenience stores, property management, and car wash businesses.
Now, turning to our operating expenditure, we remain committed to achieve cost efficiency and excellence across all our verticals and cost markets. Last year, we achieved like-for-like profit savings of $18 million and are firmly on track to achieve our $50 million savings target for five years. In 2024, we increased our network by 29 new stations, expanded our convenience network, and car wash business. This, of course, resulted in incremental revenue-accretive costs. Our OPEX, excluding one- off items, increased by just 3%, while on a unit basis, it reduced by 5%, benefiting from our efficiency enhancement initiatives. As mentioned before, our 2024 EBITDA was 5% higher, while underlying EBITDA, excluding inventory movements and one- off items, increased at a double-digit rate. It is remarkable to see all the verticals contributing to the EBITDA growth. As it is rightly said, cash is king.
Our strong EBITDA generation also resulted in strong cash flow from operations. We maintain focus on managing the working capital as well. Our CAPEX spending is in line with our financial framework, focusing on profitable growth from value-added projects. Our 2025 CAPEX is expected to be in the range of $250 million-$300 million. We generated $756 million free cash flow, fully funding our dividend commitment of $700 million. Net debt to EBITDA ratio of 0.69 times underscores our strong financial standing and favorably positions the company for future growth and shareholder value creation. Let me hand it back to Bader for closing remarks.
Thank you, Ali. Before the Q&A, let me highlight our key priorities. Driving growth. In 2024, we advanced towards our 2028 goals by increasing footfall, expanding non-fuel retail, strengthening international operations, and scaling up EV charging. Accelerating expansion.
In 2025, we aim to surpass previous targets by adding 40-50 new stations, further develop EV infrastructure with an investment of $250 million-$300 million. Disciplined growth. We will leverage strong cash flows and solid balance sheet to fund value-driven potential inorganic opportunities while ensuring financial discipline and maximizing returns. Enhancing shareholders' value. We remain committed to growth and attractive shareholders' payback. In October, we distributed $350 million for service for the first half of 2024, with the second half dividend expected to be paid in April 2025. Over the next five years, we aim to distribute $3 billion or at least 75% of net profit, whichever is higher, ensuring sustainable value creation. That concludes our presentation. We are happy to take your questions.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad at this time.
If you're using a speakerphone, please make sure your mute function is turned off to allow your signal to reach our equipment. Again, that is star one to ask any questions. We'll go first to Ricardo Rezende at Morgan Stanley. Your line is now open.
Hello. Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my question. First one, it's on Saudi Arabia. You've been talking about the different method that you've been getting the stations with, the DOCO. Would you mind just commenting on how do you see returns on when it's a company-owned and company-operated station compared to a dealer-owned and company-operated station? And then my second question in Saudi is just, do you see any potential for smaller M&As there to accelerate the growth, or it should be more organic? And then a second question, just quickly on GCC, the retail volumes, the fuel retail volumes have been very strong.
In the fourth quarter, there was the same thing. How do you see volumes in 2025 in GCC? Thank you.
Hi, Ricardo. Good afternoon, everyone. So this is Athmane. So I'm going to just answer the question. So first of all, regarding KSA, so Saudi Arabia. So we have actually contracted 30 stations in 2024, bringing our total network to 100 stations. And these 30 stations actually are under CAPEX-light dealer-owned company-operated model, which is the DOCO model, which is different from the COCO model that you were mentioning. So to answer your question, the returns and the IRR actually in this model, actually the DOCO model is much higher than the COCO, the reason being that ADNOC Distribution does not pay any lease. So what's happening is we are targeting owners that are today enjoying just nine halala per liter gross profit margin.
And while they sign with ADNOC Distribution, which is an organized player—sorry—with 15 halala, there is an extra six. And under the commercial terms, we share actually the profits. And there is no CAPEX from ADNOC Distribution except some IT infrastructure for the repositioning. So this is regarding question number one. Question number two regarding M&A Saudi Arabia. Again, what we have been saying is we are always looking at potential M&A opportunities, provided that they justify shareholder value creation. And we are always looking at opportunities. And if they materialize and they fulfill the commitment that we have provided to the market, we will, of course, execute. Then on the GCC volumes, as you rightly said, Ricardo, the volumes have been very strong. And this is one underpinned by strong mobility, especially in the UAE, where actually so population growth, tourism, but also commercial activity.
What we expect for 2025 is still a good growth in terms of volumes. On the top of that, what we are doing and what we are implementing is all the initiatives to drive further footfall in our stations through the ADNOC Rewards app and also by strengthening the non-fuel retail assets. And I'm talking about the convenience stores, the car wash, the lube change, and really importantly, the property management business, where today we have roughly 1,200 units under lease. And this is an increase, a substantial increase versus last year of roughly 120 units.
Strengthening the quick service restaurant, but also the F&B venue in the convenience stores and the car wash and the lube change, and car wash being actually having a focus on upscaling our machines, which is what we have done last year, 50% of the automatic car wash, but also introducing actually the tiering for customers to attract more volume in our car wash business, which, by the way, has increased at the double-digit last year following the initiatives that we have put in place.
That's it. Thank you, Athmane.
And once again, it was star one if you had a question. We will go next to Waleed Jimma with Goldman Sachs.
Hello. Thank you for taking my questions. I have a few. The first one is on the Saudi station additions. We're planning to add 30 next year.
Can you just talk about how easy was it to reach an agreement with 30 operators? Should we expect a similar number next year, or do you expect that number to accelerate even further? The second one is, how do we think about dividends in light of the continued growth in the company's earnings and free cash flow? Should we expect any movement in that policy going forward and maybe perhaps to a growing dividend? Also, if you can just talk about the margin per liter in the UAE, we saw the government increasing other mobility tariffs. Do you expect something similar to take place in the fuel space? And on the cost, could you just add some color on the cost savings that we're seeing or that you've highlighted despite higher OPEX and distribution expenses? Thank you.
Thank you for the question, Bader Al Lamki here, CEO.
Saudi market is a big market, as you know. I mean, we're talking about 10,000 stations across the kingdom, and there's a reform program whereby the regulator there is trying to definitely improve the quality of the stations and the way that the service is being provided, so it's a great opportunity for companies such as ADNOC Distribution that will bring our renowned DNA and quality and services to the customers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We are encouraged. I think over 2024, the origination and negotiation with the landlords and DOCO partners have yielded this 30 agreements that we've signed and sanctioned, and we're quite happy with the quality of those sites and the partnership that we have there. I think it's very creative, and that's what defines our way in engaging further in this market.
I think based on the track record we've achieved in 2024, we feel that momentum will continue into 2025. The negotiation is always negotiation, but what counts at the end is that we arrive to the right value proposition that allows us to create value. That's what we are committed to as management.
On the dividend, very quickly before I leave the floor to Ali. On the dividend, I guess that what is important is just to take a step back. One year back, roughly, we announced our new strategy along with the new dividend policy. These dividend policies set for five years to 2024 to 2028, a minimum of $700 million or 75% of the net income, whichever is higher.
So again, the willingness of the management is as the net profit growth kicks on. Actually, I will tell you to distribute higher dividend, subject, of course, to the board decision. So this is the way to look at it. And on the OPEX side, I will leave the floor to Ali.
Thank you, Athmane. Thanks for the question. In terms of the OPEX, we recorded like-for-like savings of $18 million in 2024. This was across all the OPEX buckets, just to name a few. Managing our manpower better, especially at the frontline staff. We even used artificial intelligence to do better staffing of our stations. Also, utilities. We are using, for example, lights, which have the same lux levels, but we use less utilities and electricity. And similarly, in other cost bucket pressures like maintenance and what have you.
Now, these $18 million of like-for-like savings, they partially offset the other OPEX pressures, and I call those OPEX pressures more revenue-accretive OPEX pressures because they essentially were additional OPEX from the network expansion, the expansion in our non-fuel retail facilities, which Athmane mentioned. So all in all, yes, you do see OPEX increasing, but it was partially offset by our savings program, and in the end, our unit costs were down 5% as well. So this would be the rundown on OPEX.
And we'll move next to Leo Curry with UBS.
So sorry, I guess we didn't answer the fourth question, which was the margin per liter in the UAE.
As you know, ADNOC Distribution has been reporting a margin per liter of, I would say, 40-45 fils per liter, sorry, of roughly 13 cents per liter, which is, I would say, the highest in the world. This is excluding the inventory gain that we benefit from the agreement that we have with the parent company. Regarding the potential increase in margins, again, we do not comment on this. This is up to the Ministry of Energy. This is just what I can say.
Mr. Curry, your line is now open.
Slightly higher. Could you explain what the reason was behind that and whether we should expect a normalization going forward? I guess linked to that, my second one would be the recent tax increase in the UAE. What could be the effects on ADNOC Distribution? Thank you.
Sorry, you didn't catch the first question. If you may repeat.
Oh, sure. The effective tax rate was slightly higher this quarter. Was there a reason for that? And what should we expect going forward? Should there be kind of a normalization on that front?
Yeah, the discrete thanks for the question. The discrete tax rate during quarter four was because there was an IAS 21 and IAS 12 related true-up between interest line and the tax line. The overall, there was no impact on the net income. It was purely a true-up. And here, that's where you've seen a bit of a blip in quarter four that is not regular or that is not the norm. Otherwise, we expect similar kind of tax rates, which we noticed average between quarter one to quarter three. And this was mainly this true-up was in Egypt.
Yeah. So in terms of the tax, at this stage, we expect to remain at the 9% effective tax rate. We are assessing. The law has just been issued. We are assessing, but our initial assessment is that we should be at the 9% rate. We do not anticipate a material change or any change in the tax regime for ADNOC Distribution at this stage. Thank you.
We'll move next to Ildar Khaziev with HSBC.
Thank you very much. I have three questions, please. So first, on the outlook for the commercial volumes and margins this year, there was a notable increase in margin, I think, from the second half of the past year in the commercial business. Do you view these levels and margins sustainable in 2025? That's my first question.
Secondly, if you could give us a sense of how volume growth looks like so far this year in January, that'd be very helpful too. And lastly, on the Saudi investments, we know you haven't paused these investments there, but you haven't been keen to expand the network over the past two years. Why change of mind now? Has the outlook changed? Thank you.
So thank you for your question. So your question is about the corporate business, which represents actually 90% of the commercial segment, okay? And this business is actually selling gasoline to B2B customers, okay? And the gasoline market in the UAE, as you know, is not regulated compared to the retail business. And what I want just to mention is that for the past five years, our corporate volumes increased by roughly 70% and the gross profit by 24%. So two comments.
One is that given the B2B gasoline is not regulated, the price is dictated, of course, by market dynamics, i.e., supply and demand. So gasoline price is therefore volatile. And this is what you have seen in our financials. So this is what we have seen anyway in the past years. Second, in 2024, our margins recovered from 24 fils to roughly 26.20-26.30 fils per liter, supported by actually some higher margin contracts, okay? We did not catch the other questions. Can you repeat, please?
Or save up the question around Saudi Arabia, I quote, somebody address it. Of course, over the last couple of years, we've been busy building capacity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We have boots on the ground. The teams now have fully immersed into the system.
We understand what it takes to construct, get the permits, work with the supply chain, etc., etc. And that's why we've transformed and delivered the 70 or so stations. And it is only natural that now we continue the journey. And the market is quite attractive, as we said. And we found a good strategy with this capital light approach. So back to the experience that we've attained. And given that most of the renovation and the projects have been completed, it's now time to shift gear and continue to grow, given that the market will continue to provide good value for us. And we will increase our footprint in KSA over the coming year by at least 70%. Okay.
Thank you so much. And lastly, could you give us a sense of how volume growth has been like so far this year in January? Yeah.
No, we are seeing good positive volume trend. Thanks for the question. We're seeing good positive trend. We're seeing good momentum carried into 2025 as well at this stage.
Thank you.
And one final reminder with Star One, if you had a question, we will return to Waleed Jimma with Goldman Sachs.
Hey, hello. Just a quick follow-up on the volume growth. Could you just comment on the key drivers for the trends that we saw and which country specifically contributed to this growth? Thank you.
Yeah, thanks for the question. We have seen that throughout all in our three key markets in all the three countries, we have seen very, very strong volumetric growth. And in all segments, actually, so it's very difficult to single out one. We've seen excellent mobility. We've seen excellent air travel.
We've seen also on the commercial B2B side, good solid economic growth translating into fuel demand for our businesses. So yeah, difficult to single out one. It's all across segments. Thank you.
And at this moment, I do not have any other questions holding from the phone lines.
I guess we have a question from the web, so let us just read it and come back to it. Just give us a sec.
We have a few questions, but most of them have been already covered during the call. One question here is about the one-off items. So other than inventory effect, can you clarify what are the one-off items and who are related to?
Thank you. Essentially, the one-off items is predominantly voluntary severance scheme. It's offered to the staff, and when they availed , that essentially goes through.
But it's a cost which results in future benefits, and hence we ring-fence it as a one-off. Thank you.
Okay. The last question. Should we expect 60% of the capacity for development and service station in line with the past years?
So very quickly, this is the guidance that we gave that anyway, 60% to also roughly 60% of our CAPEX would be directed to the growth, actually, and new asset growth. Yes. And this is what we have been doing for the past years.
There are no further questions on the chat. Are there any other questions online?
I do not have any other questions holding.
Okay. So thank you very much for attending the ADNOC Distribution 2024 results and its call. And please feel free if you have any questions to reach out to the Investor Relations team. Thank you very much. Have a nice evening.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. That will conclude today's call. We thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at this point.