AD Ports Q2 Net Profit Rises 88% to $227.6m

AD Ports Group said net profit for the second quarter of 2026 rose 88% year on year to $227.6 million (AED 836 million), while revenue grew 47% to $1.9 billion (AED 7.1 billion). EBITDA increased 49% to $474 million (AED 1.74 billion), and the EBITDA margin improved to 24.5% from 24.2% a year earlier.

Asset sales supplied $177 million of revenue and $80 million of EBITDA in the quarter. Free cash flow to the firm was negative $280 million, reflecting the $300 million purchase of an additional 30% stake in Global Feeder Shipping. AD Ports completed that acquisition on June 23, funded it through a credit facility drawdown, and now holds 81% of the feeder operator. Without that transaction, free cash flow would have been positive at $47.1 million. Total net debt rose by $345.8 million during the quarter to $6.2 billion (AED 22.73 billion).

Supply chain disruptions led AD Ports to reroute cargo operations and feeder services to Fujairah Terminals and Khor Fakkan Port. The company also deployed new land and air bridges to maintain operational stability, added warehousing and storage capacity, and placed 27 container vessels and five bulk vessels on alternative shipping trade corridors. Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, managing director and Group CEO, said AD Ports mitigated regional disruptions while sustaining global expansion, citing its landlord port business model, UAE East Coast trade route diversification, and port operations in Spain, Pakistan, Egypt and Angola.

M&A activity picked up as well. In June, AD Ports agreed to buy Brazil's Corredor Logística e Infraestrutura (CLI) for an enterprise value of $835 million. It was the group's largest-ever acquisition and its entry into South America's largest market; the deal is expected to close at the end of Q3 2026. In May, the company agreed to acquire Germany's MBS Logistics for $80.9 million, with closing expected in the last quarter of 2026. A mandatory tender offer for a majority stake in Egypt's Alexandria Container & Cargo Handling Company, made through wholly owned subsidiary Black Caspian, is expected to close in Q4 2026.

AD Ports ranked 65th on Forbes Middle East's list of the 100 Most Valuable Companies 2026, and Al Shamisi placed 27th on the publication's Top 100 CEOs 2026 list.

The negative cash flow is worth reading alongside that deal pipeline. AD Ports is paying for expansion with debt; net debt moved above $6.2 billion even as its operating businesses produced cash. The quarter captures the pattern: revenue and profit growing quickly, with the bill for that growth showing up on the balance sheet.