DP World gets premium LSE listing, a first for Dubai-based companies

DP World became the first Dubai-based company to obtain a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) yesterday. The ports operator, which is also listed on Nasdaq Dubai, debuted on the LSE with its stock priced at 830 pence (Dh50.01) per share. The company gained to as much as 880 pence in intra-day trading before slipping back later in the session. Around 477,100 DP World shares changed hands by 6pm UAE time. "DP World Limited is pleased to announce that all of its 830 million ordinary shares have today [Wednesday] been admitted to the official list of the UK Listing Authority and to trading on the LSE's main market for listed securities," the group said in an official statement to the LSE. "There was no new capital raised as part of the listing on the London Stock Exchange. The aim is to provide an additional platform to invest in DP World shares to help attract a broader range of investors," the statement added. DP World was one of the most traded companies on the Nasdaq Dubai in 2010, according to the exchange's annual report, and, as a result, its share price rose by 47 per cent over the year. "DP World's London listing will not have much impact on the local markets," said Matthew Wakeman, Managing Director of Cash and Equity Linked Trading at EFG Hermes. "It is a remote listing and not on one of the UK's main indexes." DP World, a unit of the state-backed conglomerate Dubai World, made a net profit of $450 million (Dh1.6 billion) in 2010. The company said the 35 per cent jump in profits from $333 million in 2009 was due to increased trading volumes and improved terminal efficiencies. Revenues for the year grew nine per cent to $3.1 billion, up from $2.8 billion in 2009. Consolidated throughput was up nine per cent to 27.8 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units).