Abu Dhabi Ports shows strong growth in H1

ABU DHABI - . Profit increases 77%. Revenue grows 20%. Cruise traffic surges 49%. TEU containers edges up by 11%. General cargo gains 7%. Dh75 million investment in new equipment

Abu Dhabi Ports continued to show strong performance in first half and said it sustained double-digit growth in line with the prosperous economic growth witnessed in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. In a statement on Tuesday, the master developer, operator and manager of the ports and Khalifa Industrial Zone in the emirate, said its profit surged 77 per cent while revenues climbed 20 per cent during January-June 2016 period while EBITDA margin exceeded 40 per cent.
Capt. Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi Ports, said these results demonstrate the crucial role that Abu Dhabi Ports plays as a UAE's regional and increasingly global maritime trade hub, especially for those seeking to access the $7.8 trillion Middle East, Africa and South Asian region. "We continue to invest and upgrade our offerings and facilities to support fast, inter-connected and efficient supply chains while also reaffirming Abu Dhabi's position as a centre of excellence in maritime trade," he said.
The company has experienced continuous growth as the UAE's maritime trade hub with major growth across general and bulk cargo, container volumes and Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) traffic. At the Khalifa Port Container Terminal (KPCT), which is operated by Abu Dhabi Terminals, container volumes increased by 11 per cent in the first half of the year.
Bolstered by rapid growth in polymer exports and transhipment activity across the Gulf, 699,776 TEUs were handled in the first six months of 2016, up from 629,941 TEUs in the same period of 2015. The RoRo offering saw new levels of productivity with a record average of 206 cars handled per hour in April 2016 alone, an important boost for the automotive industry in the UAE and the region, demonstrating the growth of Abu Dhabi as a logistics hub for this industry.
During the first half of 2016, Abu Dhabi Ports enjoyed an increase in RoRo volumes of four per cent compared with the same period in 2015, with 58,000 vehicles passing through the ports so far in 2016. 
The amount of new land leased in Khalifa Industrial Zone is over 1.5 million square metres, 50 per cent up on this time last year. Industries in Khalifa Industrial Zone continued to expand with 82 Standard Musataha Agreements (SMAs), at an investment amount of over Dh40 billion to date. - business@khaleejtimes.com