DP World, the Dubai-based global shipping terminal operator, has reported a 21.9 per cent rise in net profit for the first half of the year, in comparison to the same period in 2014.

The acquisition of logistics infrastructure firm Economic Zone World (EZW) played a significant role towards boosting the current year’s revenues, said a statement from the company.

The company posted a first-half net profit of $405 million in 2015, compared to a profit of $332 million in the corresponding period of 2014, it said in a bourse statement.

DP World's revenue for the six months to June 30 was $1.90 billion, up from $1.66 billion a year earlier.

In July, the Dubai-based company said consolidated throughput in the first half of 2015 was 14.4 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), up 3.5 per cent from a year earlier. This referred to volumes only at ports that DP World controls, said the statement.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman, DP World, said: “We are pleased to announce a strong set of results for the first six months of 2015, reporting earnings growth of 22 per cent year on year.

"This financial performance has been achieved despite uncertain market conditions, which once again demonstrates the well diversified and resilient nature of our portfolio,” he said.

“We remain on course to deliver over 100 million TEU of capacity by 2020, while maintaining the existing shape of our portfolio that has a 70 per cent exposure to origin and destination cargo and 75 per cent exposure to faster growing markets,” he added.

“This positioning will enable us to deliver both earnings growth and shareholder value over the long term,” Bin Sulayem concluded. – TradeArabia News Service