Dubai: Expansion at its Abu Dhabi base and major contracts from outside were enough to anchor AD Ports Group to 66 per cent revenue growth in the April to June period, to total Dh2.1 billion.
Now, for the first six months of 2023, the number gains are even more impressive, up 69 per cent to Dh3.8 billion. Net profit sailed in with Dh673 million from Dh606 million a year ago.
The financials show that the ADX listed firm is taking more debt, with the tally as of end June at Dh9.5 billion against Dh1.82 billion in H1-22. The debt figure was 'distorted by completion of the Noatum acquisition on 30 June 2023, which was fully funded through debt in Q2 but with P&L effect only from Q3 onwards', the company said. (Noatum is a leading global integrated logistics provider headquartered in Spain.)
The focus for now is going through with the major expansion plans - and gaining from recent acquisitions. “With a remarkable 66 per cent year-on-year revenue growth to Dh2.1 billion, we are successfully executing our diversification strategy and leveraging synergies from our recent acquisitions,” said Capt. Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO.
Going forward, the AD Ports Group revenue mix is ‘likely to be more balanced’ across four of its five Clusters. Noatum, the Spanish integrated logistics services provider that the UAE company bought, generated revenue and EBITDA of Dh5.69 billion and Dh433 million in the 12 months to June end, and ‘performing in line with expectations since the transaction was announced’.
Overall, “AD Ports Group's solid financial performance in Q2-23, evidenced by a 29 per cent y-o-y increase in EBITDA to Dh686 million, showcases our resilient growth journey driven by our expanded service offering and geographic diversification,” said Martin Aarup, Group Chief Financial Officer.
“At the same time, we continue to invest large amounts of capex - Dh1.8 billion in Q2-23 - which will drive our future growth."
Clusters come through
- The Maritime Cluster came up with the highest revenue gains, at 208 per cent to Dh1.16 billion, driven by the feedering (container and bulk) and offshore logistics and services business.
- The Economic Cities & Free Zones Cluster recorded a 10 per cent year-on-year decline to Dh441 million, which came about because of the ‘temporary’ lower utilisation of Razeen staff accommodation as it ceased to be used as COVID-19 isolation and quarantine facilities. This was ‘partly offset’ by the consolidation of Eskan Al Jamae since the beginning of the year and higher revenues from land leases. An additional 0.7 square kilometers (net) of new land leases were added in Q2-2023, and taking the total land leased under this cluster to 66.1 square kilometers.
- The Ports Cluster reported Q2-23 revenue growth of 22 per cent, with container volumes growing 10 per cent to 1.21 million TEUs. The Cluster also delivered 64 per cent y-o-y growth in Ro-Ro volumes, 152 per cent in number cruise passengers, and 40 per cent in general cargo volumes. (In June, AD Ports Group secured a 50- year concession agreement for the existing container terminal operations of the port in Karachi, which ‘resulted in immediate earnings contribution’.
