AD Ports Group Third-Quarter Net Profit Rises 64% to $265.5 Million
Revenue climbed 48% and EBITDA margin widened, though free cash flow turned negative on the CLI Group acquisition.
AD Ports Group reported third-quarter net profit of $265.5 million (AED 975 million), 64% higher than the same period a year earlier, with all four of its core business clusters contributing to the result.
Revenue reached $2.2 billion (AED 7.99 billion), a 48% year-on-year increase. Growth ran at double digits in every cluster. The Ports Cluster staged a sharp rebound from the previous quarter, Maritime & Shipping and Logistics both posted strong gains, and Economic Cities & Free Zones continued on a steady upward path.
EBITDA rose 63% to $540 million (AED 1.97 billion). The margin widened to 24.6% from 22.3% in the third quarter of 2025.
The company described the quarter as one shaped by a geopolitical and macroeconomic backdrop that remained difficult.
Cash flow and the Brazil acquisition
Free cash flow to the firm was negative $188.2 million (-AED 691 million), pulled down by funding and cash outflows tied to the purchase of CLI Group. That deal, for a Brazilian independent operator of agri-bulk port terminals, was funded during the quarter and closed on October 1, 2026.
Total net debt increased by $330 million (AED 1.23 billion) over the quarter to $6.5 billion (AED 23.95 billion). Total assets stood at $21.7 billion (AED 79.50 billion), up 15% year on year, and total equity was $8.5 billion (AED 31.3 billion), up 6%.
Chief executive Afif Saif Al Yafei called the numbers a record for a third quarter, achieved in what he described as one of the most challenging periods in the group's 20-year history. He credited operational resilience, integrity and customer-centric end-to-end solutions.
Rerouting around Hormuz
Much of that operational work centred on the Strait of Hormuz. Under the National Programme to Strengthen Supply Chain Resilience, AD Ports consolidated alternative multimodal trade routes and operations across the UAE, an effort aimed at limiting the damage from disruptions to traffic through the waterway.
Since March 2026 the group has diverted cargo operations and feeder shipping services to Fujairah Terminals and Khor Fakkan Port. It also added land and air bridges and set up extra warehousing and storage capacity.
The quarter's profit growth came while the group was absorbing the cost of a cross-continental acquisition and rebuilding trade lanes around a chokepoint. Its balance sheet now carries both: higher assets and higher leverage. AD Ports placed 65th on a 2026 ranking of the 100 most valuable companies.
