DUBAI — Dubai-based port operator DP World announced Thursday that its profits rose nearly 11 percent to $604 million in 2013 as the company opened new ports in Britain and Brazil and expanded its operations at home in the United Arab Emirates. The gains reported Thursday came despite a 1.5 percent drop in revenue to $3.07 billion last year. DP World, which is one of the world's largest seaport operators, credited last year's profits to its focus on fast growing markets alongside its operations in developed markets. The company invested more than $1 billion in a range of new long-term assets last year, launching new projects in Brazil's Embraport and London's Gateway port. The company says it plans to expand its capacity this year at its main Jebel Ali port in the UAE and its Rotterdam port in the Netherlands. DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem told reporters that the company has good liquidity to be selective about where it wants to be. He said the profits were helped by increased productivity and efforts to contain costs. “We always look for emerging markets. We look for markets that will give us the best return or better return. And definitely deploying the proceeds into Africa, into Latin America, into areas where we know we are performing very well,” he said. The board of DP World is recommending a total dividend of $190.9 million, or a 10 percent increase, to 23 cents per share. Sulayem said that the company faced some challenging market conditions in the first half of 2013 and that capacity was constrained within a number of its key locations. DP World had lower reported gains from the previous year when separately disclosed items were taken into account. — AP
