AD Ports Group delivers a record Net Profit in Q3

(Posted on 19/11/22)

AD Ports Group has announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2022. The Group’s revenue grew 53% YoY to AED 1,466 million in Q3 2022 (+35% YoY growth to AED 3,755 million for 9M 2022), driven by strong growth in its Maritime Cluster and a robust performance of its Economic Cities & Free Zones (EC&FZ) Cluster. Ports Cluster revenue grew 18% YoY on a like-for-like basis when adjusted for the positive effect of a one-off sand supply contract in 2021.

EBITDA increased 52% YoY to AED 594 million in Q3 2022 (+42% YoY growth to AED 1,650 million for 9M 2022), implying an EBITDA margin of 40.5% in Q3 2022 and 43.9% for 9M 2022. The Group’s EBITDA performance should continue to be supported by higher operating leverage in the Ports and EC&FZ Clusters going forward.

Net Profit soared 77% YoY to reach AED 334 million in Q3 2022 (+58% YoY growth to AED 941 million for 9M 2022).

AD Ports Group continued to press ahead with its ambitious organic revenue generating CapEx programme, with spending of AED 1.6 billion in Q3 2022 and AED 4.2 billion for 9M 2022.

Operationally, Ports Cluster container volumes grew 31% YoY in Q3 2022 (+28% YoY for 9M 2022), driven by increased capacity after the expansion of ADT and CSP Abu Dhabi Terminals in 2021.

One of the key highlights of the period was the announcement of the acquisition of an 80% equity stake in Dubai-based Global Feeder Shipping (GFS), a global container shipping company, for AED 2.9 billion (USD 800 million), implying a 100% Enterprise Value of AED 3.7 billion (USD 1.0 billion). GFS is the third largest feeder shipping business globally, with operated capacity of 72,500 TEUs, a total of 26 vessels, and 9,000 owned and 31,000 operated containers across its feeder and NVOCC businesses. It operates a comprehensive service network of 20 services across the GCC, Red Sea, Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

In September, AD Ports Group also completed the acquisition of a 70% stake in International Associated Cargo Carrier (IACC) in Egypt, which fully owns Transmar and TCI, for an enterprise value of AED 514 million (USD 140 million).

The transformative impact of the company’s acquisitions strategy can be seen most clearly in the enhanced performance of the Group’s Maritime Cluster, which saw a 241% YoY increase in revenue to AED 1.3 billion in the first nine months of the year. This was in part driven by increased activity in new business segments and service offerings, including feedering, chartering, transshipment, and offshore services, and accelerated by the contribution of the recent acquisitions, including Divetech, ASCL, SAFEEN Surveys and Subsea Services, and Transmar, which accounted for 27% of the total 9M 2022 Maritime Cluster revenue.

Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO, AD Ports Group, said: “These remarkable results demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of our ambitious growth strategy, as we seek new opportunities even in challenging global market conditions. As ever, we are grateful to our wise leadership for their steadfast support for our initiatives at home in the UAE and around the world.

We have pursued joint ventures and acquisitions that have built supply chain density along major routes, accelerating trade and building resilience for customers around the world. These new ventures have played a key role in expanding our service offering, enabling us to support customers at every stage of their business journey, and delivering exponential growth in our maritime business in particular.”