DP World reports volume growth of 1.8% in Asia Pacific and Indian Subcontinent region in 2016

Mar 22, 2017: DP World has posted a revenue growth of 4.9 percent from its global portfolio for 12 months ending December 31, 2016. The growth was supported by full year contribution of Jebel Ali Free Zone (UAE) and Prince Rupert (Canada). Volume growth of 0.4 percent was reported despite challenging markets.

Markets conditions in the Asia Pacific and Indian Subcontinent region were generally positive. Volume growth of 1.8 percent was driven by the Indian Subcontinent terminal as the region benefited from new capacity in Mumbai (India) and a favourable trading environment, stated a release.

On a like-for-like basis, 2016 revenues grew by 1.3 percent, driven by 2.3 percent containerised revenue growth, which was up by 3.8 percent on a reported basis. While non-container revenue decreased by 1.1 percent on a like-for-like basis and increased by 7.5 percent on a reported basis.

DP World Group Chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, commented, “We are pleased to announce another set of strong financial results for 2016, as we delivered earnings in excess of $1 billion and above 50 percent EBITDA margins for the full year for the first time. Encouragingly, our volumes have continued to grow ahead of the market with gross volumes growing 3.2 percent vs. Drewry full year market estimate of 1.3 percent. This is pleasing given the significant challenges parts of our portfolio have faced, and once again demonstrates the resilient nature of our diversified portfolio. Disciplined investment throughout the economic cycle has been one of the keys to delivering consistent growth and in 2016, we invested $1,298 million across our portfolio in markets with strong demand and supply dynamics.

“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. Our aim is to continue our disciplined approach to capital allocation in markets with strong growth potential while adding complementary or related services to further diversify and strengthen our business.

“The Board of DP World recommends increasing the dividend by 26.7 percent to $315.4 million, or 38.0 US cents per share, reflecting the strong earnings growth in the year. The Board is confident of the Company’s ability to continue to generate cash and support our future growth whilst maintaining a consistent dividend payout.

“Our significant cash generation and investment partnerships leave us with a strong balance sheet and flexibility to capitalise on the significant growth opportunities in the industry. Overall, we continue to believe that a portfolio which has a 70 percent exposure to origin and destination cargo and 75 percent exposure to faster growing markets will enable us to deliver enhanced shareholder value over the long term.”