DP World H1 Profit Soars on Acquisitions

DP World, one of the world's largest port operators, reported a 50 percent leap in net profit for the first half of this year on Thursday, helped by the acquisitions of the Dubai's Jebel Ali Free Zone and Canada's Fairview Terminal.

The company made a profit attributable to shareholders of $608 million in the six months to June 30, compared to a profit of $405 million in the corresponding period last year. EFG Hermes had forecast the company would make a quarterly profit of $432.9 million.

DP World's revenue for the first half was $2.09 billion, up from $1.90 billion a year earlier.

In July, the company said consolidated throughput for the period was 14.6 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), down 1.4 percent from a year earlier on a like-for-like basis. This refers to volumes only at ports that DP World controls.

The outlook remains uncertain, DP World said in its statement on Thursday. It added that it remained confident of meeting full-year expectations, but did not elaborate.

DP World in June said it had won a 50-year concession to develop a port project in Ecuador that would require initial investment of $500 million. The project would be conducted with DP World's local partners, Consorcio Nobis and Grupo Vilaseca.

The firm was also awarded in April a 25-year concession by the Cypriot government for the exclusive rights to operate Limassol port, in partnership with Cypriot company GAP Vassilopoulos Public.

 

Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh