DP World revenue jumps 13.1% despite disruption to Middle East trade flows

Global growth offsets weaker Jebel Ali traffic while DP World plans $3 billion investment

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DP World Jebel Ali Por
DP World's port in Jebel Ali.
Gulf News File

Dubai: DP World’s revenue rose 13.1% to $12.7 billion in the first half of 2026, with growth across its global ports, logistics and marine businesses helping offset lower activity at Jebel Ali following disruption to Middle East trade flows.

Jebel Ali remains fully operational and has suffered no physical damage, DP World said, although the regional conflict has temporarily reduced vessel traffic through the port. The company has expanded inland connectivity and introduced other measures across its regional network to keep critical cargo moving.

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Revenue increased from $11.2 billion in the first half of 2025, while adjusted EBITDA stood at $2.86 billion, down 5.6% from $3.03 billion a year earlier.

Growth outside Jebel Ali

Container volumes excluding Jebel Ali increased 5.4% on a reported basis and 6.5% on a like-for-like basis, supported by growth across Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas.

Gross container throughput across the entire group reached 42.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units during the first six months, down 5.7% from 45.4 million TEUs a year earlier. Excluding Jebel Ali, throughput increased to 39.7 million TEUs from 37.7 million.

Fujairah to expand UAE gateway network

DP World is planning two new terminals in Fujairah under a 50-year concession, extending its UAE gateway network beyond Jebel Ali and giving cargo owners another route through the country.

The company said the terminals will form part of an integrated supply chain linked to the wider Jebel Ali ecosystem, with the aim of giving customers more flexibility in moving goods through the UAE.

$3 billion investment planned this year

DP World invested $1.5 billion across its global portfolio during the first half and expects total capital expenditure of about $3 billion in 2026.

Investment is being directed towards new capacity and trade infrastructure in markets including the UAE, UK, India, Saudi Arabia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Excluding Jebel Ali, Container volumes increased by 6.5% on a like-for-like basis, and adjusted EBITDA increased by 9.7%, with growth across Africa, Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe," said DP World Group CEO Yuvraj Narayan. "This performance reflects the strength of our global network and our ability to provide cargo owners with efficient end-to-end supply chain solutions.”

Narayan said the company continues to focus on capital allocation, costs and operational efficiency while maintaining its balance sheet and liquidity position.

DP World said near-term uncertainty remains, but the company continues to have a positive medium- to long-term view of global trade, supported by its international network and expanding logistics business.

Nivetha Dayanand is Assistant Business Editor at Gulf News, covering aviation, financial markets and commodities. A business and financial journalist with a strong interest in multimedia storytelling, she regularly takes complex financial and economic subjects beyond the written word, producing explainer videos that make them easier for a wider audience to understand. Nivetha has interviewed senior policymakers, business leaders and global financial figures both on and off camera. Her past guests include UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, a member of the House of Saud and the founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and Indian ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and N. Chandrababu Naidu. She has also hosted and moderated panels, conferences and awards shows, bringing her newsroom experience to live conversations on business, finance and the economy. An Erasmus Mundus journalism alum, Nivetha is drawn to stories that affect people directly and to reporting that gives a platform to voices that might otherwise go unheard. She was among the first journalists to speak to Petrofac employees in the UAE about unpaid salaries, broke the news of the planned demolition of Dubai’s well-known “Toyota Building”, and helped set the record straight on widely circulated claims that a giant replica of the Moon was coming to Dubai. More recently, her exclusive interview with EDGE Group CEO Hamad Al Marar revealed how the UAE-based defence group deployed its systems along the country’s shore border and established a geofence around the UAE within 48 hours of the February 28 escalation. Prior to joining Gulf News, Nivetha worked at ITP Media, where she helped launch Finance Middle East, a new publication covering the region’s financial sector. Her role spanned reporting and editing, video production, interviews and events. Across print, digital, and video, she focuses on finding the people behind business stories and explaining why those stories matter to the audience reading or watching them.

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