DP World, the Dubai-based ports operator, reported on Monday $1.13 billion in net profit attributable to owners of the company for 2016, marking a 28 per cent jump from the $883 million in profits recorded in 2015.
The company’s revenues rose nearly 5 per cent year-on-year in 2016 to reach $4.16 billion.
“Encouragingly, our volumes have continued to grow ahead of the market with gross volumes growing 3.2 per cent vs. Drewry full year market estimate of 1.3 per cent,” said Sultan Bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive officer of DP World Group.
In a statement to Nasdaq Dubai where DP World is listed, he added, “While 2017 is expected to be another challenging year for global trade, we have made an encouraging start to the year and we expect to continue to deliver ahead-of-market volume growth.”
Bin Sulayem said the company was aiming to continue what he described as a “disciplined approach” to capital allocation in markets.
The board of DP World recommended increasing dividends by 26.7 per cent to $315.4 million or 38 US cents per share (from 30 cents per share in 2015).
DP World said it expects capital expenditure in 2017 to be $1.2 billion, with investment planned into the UAE (at Jebel Ali), Canada, Somaliland, Senegal, and the UK’s London Gateway.