Gulf Navigation Holding, a leading maritime and shipping company, has posted a gross profit of Dh49 million ($13.3 million) for 2017, achieving a 7 per cent increase over the gross profit of Dh45.8 million in previous year.

This achievement comes as a result of the company’s vision and efficient strategic plans set to position Gulf Navigation as one of the largest integrated marine services provider in the region, a company statement said.

During 2016, the company has successfully managed to pay and reschedule all its financial debts and to solve legal issues through financial allocations, which positively reflected on the company’s net profit in 2016 of Dh136,573 million compared to Dh40.7 achieved in 2017 as result of returning these financial allocations.

In addition, the company added two new petrochemical carriers to its fleet which contributed in increasing its assets value by 12 per cent to reach Dh1,076 billion compared to Dh959 billion in 2016, with a total increase of Dh117 million.

This progress significantly contributed in enhancing the company’s revenues gained from shipping the petrochemicals and petroleum derivatives, as well as expanding the company’s presence in various markets. On the another side, the company has successfully managed to reduce its operating expenses by Dh5.5 million during 2017 through internal restructuring in order to achieve the highest level of operational and commercial efficiency at the lowest cost.

Khamis Juma Buamim, board member, managing director and Group CEO of Gulf Navigation Holding Group, said: “The shipping and marine services sector in our region is ultimately promising for those who know how to benefit from it and who have the experience to establish a well-planned strategy to invest in this industry with its numerous opportunities. We are proud to be a success story because we are the first and the only shipping company listed in Dubai Financial Market and we are committed to contribute to the national economy diversification.

“We attribute our success and achievements to the constant support and guidance from our Board of Directors who sustains our strategic plans that aim at achieving greater revenues for our shareholders and strategic partners. Moreover, we would like to extend our appreciation to TABARAK Investment and major shareholders for their trust in our ability to achieve more success.”

Gulf Navigation’s constant efforts and strategic plans have encouraged the investors and shareholders to raise their stake in order to increase their returns. The capital increase to reach Dh1 billion has been processed through the “Rights Issue” that started on February 11 and will end by February 22.

Furthermore, the company has emphasized that the financial returns from “Rights Issue” will be used to support its strategic plans to increase its fleet to 20 vessels by 2020 aiming to meet the increasing demand for shipping petroleum and petrochemical products that was declared by a number of the leading oil majors in the region such as Adnoc and Saudi Aramco. – TradeArabia News Service