DP World, the Dubai-based international port operator, said today its profit rose 12 per cent in 2014, a year in which it assumed ownership of a sister company that runs free-trade zones in the Gulf emirate.
The government-backed company said it earned USD 675 million in profit attributable to its owners last year, up from USD 604 million in 2013.
DP World ranks among the world's largest port operators, with business at more than 65 marine terminals globally.
It is heavily focused on fast-growing developing markets, and it runs the Middle East's busiest port, Dubai's Jebel Ali. Its portfolio also includes the new London Gateway port in Britain and Embraport in Brazil.
Chief Executive Mohammed Sharaf said the company is off to an "encouraging start" for 2015, though he acknowledged that "macro-economic conditions and geopolitical issues across some locations remain uncertain."
DP World reported that revenue for 2014 rose 11 per cent to USD 3.41 billion.
Over the course of the year, DP World expanded capacity at its flagship Jebel Ali port and continued work on new facilities expected to come online in 2015 in India, Turkey and the Netherlands.
It spent USD 807 million in investments last year and expects to spend a further USD 1.4 billion to USD 1.7 billion on new capital expenditures in 2015.
