DP World profits surge as it earmarks $1.2bn for global investments
Logistics giant DP World has seen its profits surge in the past six months, as it earmarks $1.2bn worth of capital expenditure for the rest of the year – with a portion going to the UK’s London Gateway and P&O Ferries.
Revenue hit $4.94bn in the six months to 30 June, up 21.3 per cent from the $4.07bn it pulled in in the same period last year.
The port operator said its revenue was buoyed by its recent acquisitions in the UK, Australia and India.
DP World’s total profits surged 75.4 per cent from £333m in the half of 2020 to £585m.
The fairly upbeat financials follow the global logistics heavyweight reporting record volumes through its London port in the first half of the year in late July.
With the capital’s key port London Gateway, which is set to receive a dose of investment from the group sometime this year, seeing 23 per cent more throughput that in the first half of 2020.
Around $1.2bn of capital expenditure has been earmarked for the rest of the year, with planned investments into London Gateway, the UK’s P&O Ferries as well as into the UAE, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Angola, Peru and Somaliland.
“Our recently announced acquisitions of Imperial Logistics and Syncreon bring value-add capabilities in high growth verticals and markets, which will allow us to offer a more compelling set of supply chain solutions,” group chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said.
The Dubai port owner agreed to buy US supply chain solution company Syncreon for $1.2bn at the beginning of July.
The logistics industry has been rocked by the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, but Bin Sulayem said the group’s outlook is positive despite the hangover of uncertainty.
“Overall, the near-term outlook remains positive, and while we are mindful that the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical uncertainty could once-again disrupt the global economic recovery, we remain positive on the medium to long-term fundamentals of the industry and DP Worlds ability to continue to deliver sustainable returns.”