Dubai-based shipping company Gulf Navigation Holding (GulfNav) saw a 33% growth in net profits by the end of the first half of 2017, compared with the same period of 2016.
The company witnessed a continuous improvement in its financial performance, ending the first half of 2017 with a net profit of AED 19 million (USD 5.2 million) compared to AED 14 million (USD 3.9 million) reported during the same period in 2016.
This increase in earnings comes concurrently with the new phase the company is launching to strengthen its position and competitiveness globally, GulfNav said.
The company added that its assets as of June 30, 2017 exceed current liabilities by AED 115.44 million, improving from negative AED 90 million reported at the end of 2016.
“Since we started a new phase to improve our performance and expand our business scope, our strategy focused on three main pillars: expansion, growth and permanence,” Khamis Juma Buamim, Board Member, Managing Director and Group CEO of the Gulf Navigation Holding Group, said.
“We have also succeeded in achieving many goals, starting by addressing the outstanding legal, financial and administrative issues, to launching our new brand that reflects the strategy of the company to enhance our position in the market. This will contribute in increasing our profits by 300% in 2021. As well as, increasing our fleet size to include additional 20 ships of multiple tasks by the second half of 2020,” Buamim added.
As a step to secure funds to cover Gulf Navigation expansion strategy, the company plans to issue Islamic Sukuk, with a total value of USD 250 million.