AD Ports Group reports strong growth, global expansion in first year as publicly listed entity

AD Ports Group extended its international reach in its first year as a publicly traded company, with 2022 becoming one of the most significant years in its history.

The year started with the listing of AD Ports Group’s shares for the first time on Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADX) and continued with notable achievements through to December 2022, when it welcomed UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to inaugurate the expansion of Khalifa Port.

The expansion works position Khalifa Port among the world’s leading deep-water ports, with an estimated value of Dhs20.4bn.

Throughout 2022, AD Ports Group has continued to demonstrate its drive to position Abu Dhabi at the frontier of world trade, adding value to stakeholders through the expansion and improvement of services.

The group has built new strategic relationships within the region and beyond, which has enabled the group to open new trade corridors. Through new partnerships and shipping routes, AD Ports Group is developing the highest levels of connectivity between the Arabian Gulf, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, East Africa, and Central Asia – vital trading partners that will help drive economic growth in the region and internationally.

AD Ports Group acquisitions

Major acquisitions played a key role in 2022. The company completed its first international acquisition in September, acquiring a 70 per cent stake in Egypt’s Transmar and TCI, and followed that with agreements to acquire an 80 per cent stake in Global Feeder Shipping (GFS), which will see the group significantly expand its fleet and container capacity, and a 100 per cent stake in Spain’s Noatum, a global logistics giant.

Falah Mohammad Al Ahbabi, chairman, AD Ports Group, said: “Throughout 2022, AD Ports Group has demonstrated its consistent efforts to evolve the services we offer to customers, while supporting Abu Dhabi’s aims to be a leading global hub for trade and logistics. AD Ports Group is proud to have delivered a remarkable growth story in 2022, expanding our global connectivity through new trade corridors, and becoming a truly global company through organic growth and international acquisitions.

“As we work to further develop infrastructure across assets in the UAE and beyond, our objective is to position the company as a global enabler that supports industrial growth and contributes to our leaders’ strategic aims to diversify the UAE economy.”

Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, MD and group CEO, AD Ports Group, said that 2022 has been a strong and historic year for AD Ports Group, and “we are proud to have shown a consistent drive to advance our business model and operations. AD Ports Group has evolved from a key contributor to Abu Dhabi’s economy into a publicly listed entity with an expanding global reach that is actively transforming key industries worldwide”.

Last year, we delivered on our commitment to produce remarkable results, and grew from a local champion into a publicly listed group with expanding global reach in four continents. 2022 has become one of the most important years since our establishment. https://t.co/gRPCzXE8aI

— AD Ports Group (@ADPortsGroup) January 1, 2023

The company announced several key acquisitions, such as Divetech and ASCL, and joint ventures within the UAE including the launch of SAFEEN Invictus and SAFEEN Surveys and Subsea Services. These strategic initiatives opened new business segments and service offerings for its Maritime Cluster, which has emerged as one of the most dynamic in the sector.

During the year, AD Ports Group continued to build its global presence, signing agreements with port authorities and partners around the world, including contracts with the Red Sea Ports Authority for major port projects along Egypt’s coastline and with SEG, one of the largest oil and gas companies in Uzbekistan, to open new logistics and freight businesses in the Central Asian nation.

Work continued on the development of the Marsa Zayed mega-project in Aqaba, in Jordan, and the company closed the year with a number of key agreements in Africa, including one with the Africa Finance Corporation to address infrastructure gaps across the continent, and a heads of terms agreement with Sudan, providing a consortium led by AD Ports Group and Invictus Investment with rights to develop, manage, and operate port and economic zone assets in Sudan.

Read: AD Ports Group, Invictus Consortium sign agreement with Sudan

Most recently, AD Ports Group began the strategic expansion of its services in the Caspian Sea and Black Sea regions, as it entered a shareholder agreement with KMTF (Kazmortransflot), a fully- owned offshore logistics and services subsidiary of the Kazakh National Oil Company (KazMunayGas).

The agreement will lead to the development of a new joint venture, under which the two companies will provide broad range of services including offshore support vessels, integrated offshore logistics and subsea solutions and container feedering, ro-ro and crude oil transportation in the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea regions.

AD Ports Group also transformed its offering in the Economic Cities and Free Zones (EC&FZ) space, launching KEZAD Group to integrate its existing trade, logistics, and industrial business grouping into one consolidated entity comprising 12 economic zones with a total area of 550 square kilometres.

Read: AD Ports launches KEZAD Group to streamline services for strategic industries

The group’s digital subsidiary, Maqta Gateway, played a key role in supporting AD Ports Group’s international expansion in multiple areas. The Advanced Trade and Logistics Platform (ATLP), the official single window for trade in Abu Dhabi, surpassed the milestone of facilitating more than 100 million digital transactions, and Maqta Gateway also collaborated with Emirates Post Group and SkyGo to launch aerial drone trials for flying postal delivery service.

Key financial records

Demonstrating the fruitfulness of AD Ports Group’s bold growth strategy, the group surpassed several key financial records last year.

In the first nine months of 2022, the group’s revenue had grown 53 per cent year-on-year to Dhs1,466m million; EBITDA increased 52 per cent to Dhs594m; and net profit soared 77 per cent to reach Dhs334m.