DP World recently held its ‘Annual General Meeting’ for the year ended December 31, 2015 in which Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chair and CEO of the company made a statement regarding operational performance in Q1, 2016.
Bin Sulayem said: “DP World Limited handled 15.5 million TEU across its global portfolio of container terminals during Q1, 2016, with gross container volumes growing by 3.7% on a reported basis, and up 2.4% on a like-for-like basis.
Technical Paper: DP World’s T3 Container Terminal in Jebel Ali
“Q1 growth was largely driven by a stronger performance from our European and Indian subcontinent terminals. Conditions in Latin America remain challenging while the UAE handled 3.6 million TEU, down 5.9% year-on-year due to loss of lower-margin cargo.
DP World’s investment activities in India have recently been noted by PTI, with recent reports that the company is looking to invest US$1 billion into the country’s ports.
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem continues: “At a consolidated level, our terminals handled 7.2 million TEU during Q1, 2016, a 2.3% improvement in performance on a reported basis and down 0.4% year-on-year on a like-for-like basis.
Technical Paper: DP World’s T4 Container Terminal in Jebel Ali
“Despite the challenging operating environment, we are pleased to see that our portfolio continues to deliver ahead of market volume growth.
“Our new developments in Rotterdam (Netherlands), Nhava Sheva (India) and Yarimca (Turkey) are now operational and are expected to deliver an increasing contribution in H2, 2016.
“The additional two million TEU of capacity at Jebel Ali (UAE) and one million TEU of capacity in London Gateway (UK) are on course to be delivered in mid-2016, which will offer further room for growth.
Sulayem concluded: “Overall, we remain well positioned to grow volumes ahead of the market, while we continue to focus on driving profitability by targeting higher margin cargo, improving efficiencies and managing costs. Our encouraging start to the year gives us confidence in meeting full year market expectations.”
