DP World made a net profit attributable to shareholders of US$1.13 billion in 2016 before separately disclosed items, surpassing US$1 billion for the first time, according to financial results released by the company.

On a like-for-like basis and at constant currency, the net profit for 2016 represented a year-on-year increase of 6.2%.

The company achieved a consolidated throughput of 29.2 million TEUs in 2016, 1.6% lower than 2015 on a like-for-like basis.

In Asia Pacific and the Indian Subcontinent, consolidated throughput grew 1.8% year-on-year, while volumes fell by 6.0% in Australia and the Americas on a like-for-like basis.

“We are pleased to announce another set of strong financial results for 2016, as we delivered earnings in excess of US$1 billion and above 50% EBITDA margins for the full year for the first time,” said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World. “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%. This is pleasing given the significant challenges parts of our portfolio have faced, and once again demonstrates the resilient nature of our diversified portfolio. Disciplined investment throughout the economic cycle has been one of the keys to delivering consistent growth and in 2016, we invested US$1,298 million across our portfolio in markets with strong demand and supply dynamics.”

He added that further growth in the low single digits is expected for the year ahead, with added capacity in Jebel Ali, Prince Rupert, Berbera, Qingdao, Dakar and London Gateway.

“While 2017 is expected to be another challenging year for global trade, we have made an encouraging start to the year and we expect to continue to deliver ahead-of-market volume growth,” Bin Sulayem said. “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.”