Despite “significant challenges” in the industry, Dubai-based port and terminal operator DP World has posted for the first time a full-year net income of over USD 1 billion.

The company’s profit for 2016 stood at USD 1.3 billion, compared to USD 970 million seen a year earlier.

Moreover, DP World’s revenue rose to USD 4.2 billion in 2016 from USD 4 billion in 2015. Revenue growth of 4.9% was supported by the full-year contribution of Jebel Ali Free Zone in the UAE and Prince Rupert in Canada, according to the company.

Like-for-like revenue went up by 1.3% driven by a 2.3% increase in containerized revenue.

Containerized revenue per TEU grew by 4% and total revenue per TEU by 3% on a like-for-like basis. In addition, total containerized revenue grew by 3.8% on a reported basis and 2.3% on a like-for-like basis as containerized other revenue was up 6.1% on a reported basis and 5.1% on a like-for-like basis.

On the other side, non-container revenue decreased by 1.1% on a like-for-like basis and increased by 7.5% on a reported basis.

“We are pleased to announce another set of strong financial results for 2016, as we delivered earnings in excess of USD 1 billion and above 50% EBITDA margins for the full year for the first time. Encouragingly, our volumes have continued to grow ahead of the market with gross volumes growing 3.2% vs. Drewry full year market estimate of 1.3%,” Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DP World Group Chairman and CEO, commented.

By the end of 2016, gross global capacity was at 85 million TEU, an increase of approximately 15 million TEU since 2012, and DP World expects over 100 million TEU of gross capacity by 2020, subject to market demand.

During 2016, DP World raised USD 1.2 billion in a new 7-year Sukuk transaction, refinancing USD 1.1 billion of the existing 2017 Sukuk through a tender offer and extending the debt maturity profile. The firm also raised GBP 650 million (USD 805.4 million) 20- and 30-year multi-tranche term financing placed with pension funds, insurance companies and financial institutions for London Gateway Port and CAD 603 million (USD 451.3 million) 7-year bank loan for the Canadian business.

In December 2016, DP World North America’s pension fund managers Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) joined forces to create a USD 3.7 billion investment platform to invest in ports and terminals globally, excluding the United Arab Emirates. The port operator seeded the fund with the Canadian container terminals, Vancouver and Prince Rupert, with CDPQ acquiring a 45% stake in the assets for USD 640 million.

Also in December, the port operator increased its stake in Pusan Newport Company Limited (PNC) after purchasing an additional 23.94% stake in the South Korean firm.

“Disciplined investment throughout the economic cycle has been one of the keys to delivering consistent growth and in 2016, we invested USD 1,298 million across our portfolio in markets with strong demand and supply dynamics,” Bin Sulayem added.

In its outlook for 2017, Bin Sulayem said it is expected to be another challenging year for global trade. Despite this, the company expects to continue to deliver “ahead-of-market” volume growth.

“Our aim is to continue our disciplined approach to capital allocation in markets with strong growth potential while adding complementary or related services to further diversify and strengthen our business,” Bin Sulayem concluded.