DP World , the world's third-largest port operator, reported an 82 percent rise in 2011 net profit, boosted by gains from the sale of its Australian operations.

The company, one of the more profitable assets of debt-laden Dubai World, made a profit of $683 million last year compared to $375 million in 2010, it said in a statement on Nasdaq Dubai.

Profit before exceptional items was $459 million, a 23 percent increase over the prior year.

The company recorded a profit of $484 million in 2011 from the part-sale of its Australian operations, the company's earnings report showed.

In 2010, DP World sold 75 percent of its Australian operations to private equity firm Citi Infrastructure Investors (CII) as it tried to reduce its debts.

Revenue for 2011 fell 3 percent to $2.98 billion, the company said.

The global ports operator said that its net debt has been reduced to $3.6 billion and gross cash flow from operations increased to $1.16 billion. This was partly due to proceeds from the monetisation of its Australian terminals.

DP World, which is relying on its emerging markets focus to help offset a potential economic slowdown, said this week that it would repay a $3 billion loan six months ahead of schedule.

"2011 has been another good year for DP World with the second half of the year delivering a better performance than the first half," said Mohammed Sharaf, the group chief executive for DP World.

"This improved performance was achieved despite a deteriorating global economic backdrop in the second half."

It reported in January that its container volumes in 2011 rose by 10 percent over the prior year.

DP World warned in October of tough conditions for its customers in 2012, but said it would achieve throughput growth of more than 7 percent in the year. (Reuters)