Global trade enabler DP World announced on Tuesday the financial results from its global portfolio for the twelve months ending 31 December 2016.
On a reported basis, revenue grew 4.9%, and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 17.4%, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 54.4%, delivering profit attributable (dividends) to owners of the company, before separately disclosed items of $1.127bn (up 27.6%) and earnings per share (EPS) of 135.7 US cents.
On a like-for-like basis, revenue grew 1.3%, adjusted EBITDA increased by 6.6% with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 52.6%, and attributable earnings increased 6.2%.
DP World Group’s chairperson and CEO, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, said, “we are pleased to announce another set of strong financial results for 2016, as we achieved earnings in excess of $1bn and above 50% EBITDA margins for the full year for the first time.”
He added that the volumes have continued to grow ahead of the market with gross volumes growing 3.2% versus an initial estimate of 1.3%.
“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 an ahead-of-market volume growth. Our aim is to continue our disciplined approach to capital allocation in markets with strong growth potential, all while adding complementary or related services to further diversify and strengthen our business,” he noted.
He stated that the board of directors of DP World recommends increasing dividends by 26.7% to $315.4m or 38.0 US cents per share, reflecting the strong earnings growth during the year. Bin Sulayem added that the board of directors is confident regarding the company’s ability to continue generating cash and supporting future growth while maintaining a consistent dividend payout.
