Dubai's DP World reports flat H1 profits

Dubai's DP World, the world's third largest port operator, on Wednesday reported flat profits in the first half of 2012. Net profit stood at $247 million in the first six months, 0.4 percent up from $246 million in the corresponding period of last year. "In a tougher operating environment, we have reported a good set of results for the first six months, with profit and margin up on the same period last year," chief executive officer Mohammed Sharaf said in a statement. Revenues in the first half of 2012 stood at $1.53 billion, 1.8 percent up from $1.502 billion in the first half of last year, the company said. The consolidated throughput of containers handled in its terminals stood at 13.586 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit), up 0.9 percent from 13.470 million TEU. DP World, which operates more than 60 terminals across six continents, said its gross debt has dropped to $4.7 billion, mainly due to the repayment of a $3 billion syndicated loan facility in April.