DP World , the world's third-largest port operator, reported an 82 per cent rise in 2011 net profit on Thursday, boosted by gains from the sale of its Australian operations. The company, one of the more profitable assets of debt-laden Dubai World, made a profit of $683 million last year compared to $375 million in 2010, it said in a statement onNasdaqDubai. DP World operates the Ain Sokhna port in east of Egypt. Profit before exceptional items was $459 million, a 23 per cent increase over the prior year. The company recorded a profit of $484 million in 2011 from the part-sale of its Australian operations, the company'searningsreport showed. In 2010, DP World sold 75 per cent of its Australian operations to private equity firm Citi Infrastructure Investors (CII) as it tried to reduce its debts. Revenue for 2011 fell 3 per cent to $2.98 billion, the company said. The global ports operator said that its net debt has been reduced to $3.6 billion and gross cash flow from operations increased to $1.16 billion. This was partly due to proceeds from the monetisation of its Australian terminals. DP World, which is relying on its emerging markets focus to help offset a potential economic slowdown, said this week that it would repay a $3 billion loan six months ahead of schedule. "2011 has been another good year for DP World with the second half of the year delivering a better performance than the first half," said Mohammed Sharaf, the group chief executive for DP World. "This improved performance was achieved despite a deteriorating global economic backdrop in the second half." It reported in January that its container volumes in 2011 rose by 10 per cent over the prior year. DP World warned in October of tough conditions for its customers in 2012, but said it would achieve throughput growth of more than 7 per cent in the year.
