Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
AD Ports Group’s net profit rose 64% year on year to Dh2.46 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up from Dh1.50 billion a year earlier, as the group adapted its transport operations to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Revenue increased 41% to Dh20.83 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 49% to Dh5.22 billion. The EBITDA margin increased to 25.1% from 23.7%.
Profit before tax rose 66% to Dh2.70 billion. Net profit attributable to the owners of the company increased 67% to Dh1.86 billion.
In the third quarter, the group posted a record net profit of Dh975 million, up 64% from a year earlier. Revenue rose 48% to Dh7.99 billion, while EBITDA increased 63% to Dh1.97 billion
The EBITDA margin rose to 24.6% from 22.3%. Quarterly profit before tax increased 81% to Dh1.08 billion, while net profit attributable to the owners of the company rose 73% to Dh767 million.
Cash flow from operations reached Dh2.94 billion in the quarter, about three times the year-earlier level. Free cash flow to the firm was negative Dh691 million after the group funded its acquisition of Brazilian port terminal operator Corredor Logística e Infraestrutura (CLI). Excluding the transaction, the group said free cash flow would have been positive at Dh1.17 billion. The acquisition was completed on October 1.
To keep cargo moving during disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, AD Ports Group said it had rerouted cargo and feeder shipping services since March through Fujairah Terminals and Khor Fakkan Port, both on the Gulf of Oman outside the strait.
It also set up alternative routes by land and air and added warehousing and storage capacity. The group expanded its use of these routes in the third quarter under the UAE’s National Programme to Strengthen Supply Chain Resilience.
“In one of the most challenging periods in its 20-year history, AD Ports Group achieved record results during Q3,” said Dr Afif Saif Al Yafei, Group Chief Executive Officer.
He said alternative trade routes helped the group’s ports business recover from the previous quarter and described the CLI deal as the group’s largest acquisition to date.
AD Ports Group announced Al Yafei’s appointment on November 2. He joined from TAQA Transmission, where he served as chief executive, and previously held senior roles at Tabreed and ADNOC Gas.
He succeeded Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, who had led AD Ports Group since 2014 and oversaw its expansion from a local port operator into a global trade and logistics group.
