Today's Edition
A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
AD Ports Group, a major Abu Dhabi-based global trade and logistics company, has submitted its integrated annual report to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), detailing its significant achievements in 2024 and its continued emphasis on sustainability and corporate governance.
The Group is a key trade gateway to Abu Dhabi, a rapidly expanding economy, with its ecosystem contributing nearly 23% of Abu Dhabi’s non-oil GDP in 2022.
Furthermore, AD Ports Group's contribution to the UAE's non-oil GDP reached approximately 12% in 2022, according to Oxford Economics.
Listed on the ADX since 2022, the Group is primarily owned by ADQ (75.42%), an Abu Dhabi sovereign investment holding company, and delivers end-to-to-end solutions across the global supply chain.
The annual report highlights AD Ports Group's robust performance in 2024, marked by strategic global expansion and a resilient response to market challenges. A key factor in this success was the Group's adept navigation of geopolitical disruptions, particularly in the Red Sea, which it turned into an opportunity to increase revenue and profit.
The Group's enhanced global presence is underscored by significant developments, including the expansion of Khalifa Port, strategic acquisitions in Egypt, Spain, and Tanzania, and the securing of long-term concessions to develop and operate terminals and logistics facilities in several countries.
“The Group benefited in 2024 from rising global freight rates, its agile response to Red Sea disruptions, strategic acquisitions in Egypt, sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia, a major expansion of Khalifa Port, and strong growth across KEZAD’s economic cities,” the AD Ports Group report said.
"In a year marked by geopolitical instabilities and evolving global trade routes, AD Ports Group achieved record results, adeptly navigating challenges and seizing opportunities to advance a value-enhancing international expansion strategy that keeps Abu Dhabi and the UAE at the forefront of world trade," stated Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Chairman of AD Ports Group.
He further emphasised the importance of the Group's integrated ecosystem, which "leveraged AD Ports Group’s synergistic potential as never before, optimising gains from a selective internationalisation strategy to accelerate the Group’s transformation from a regional into a truly global integrated trade, transport and logistics group."
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO of AD Ports Group, highlighted the Group's focus on enabling trade.
"In 2024, AD Ports Group delivered on its primary mission to enable trade," he said, adding that the Group "deployed an agile and effective business strategy that translated geopolitical uncertainty in regions such as the Red Sea into record revenue and profit.”
Al Shamisi also pointed to the successful integration of major acquisitions, such as Noatum and Global Feeder Shipping (GFS), as a driver of efficiency and global influence.
AD Ports Group also made strides in sustainability and innovation. The Group reduced the carbon intensity of its container handling operations and achieved recognition for technological advancements, including the launch of the region's first autonomous surveying vessel and the world's most powerful electric tugboat.
The Group's financial performance in 2024 reflects its strategic success. Revenue reached Dh17.29 billion, a 48% increase compared to the previous year, with EBITDA growing by 69% to Dh4.51 billion.
These results, according to the report, demonstrate AD Ports Group's pivotal role in Abu Dhabi and the UAE's economic diversification and its emergence as a key player in the global trade and logistics landscape.
