DP World Limited has revealed that it handled 63.7 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) across its global portfolio of container terminals in the full year of 2016, with gross container volumes growing by 3.2% year-on-year on a reported basis, and 2.2% on a like-for-like1 basis.
These numbers compare very favourably to the industry-estimated growth of 1.3% for 2016.
In the fourth quarter, gross reported volumes grew by 6.0% year-on-year driven by strong growth in Asia Pacific and Europe. UAE handled 3.7 million TEU in 4Q2016 down marginally by 0.7% year-on-year. The Americas and Australia region delivered a broadly stable volume performance during this period.
At a consolidated3 level, DP World terminals handled 29.2 million TEU during 2016, a 0.4% improvement in performance on a reported basis and down 1.6% year-on-year on a like-for-like4 basis.
Commenting on the impressive growth through turbulent times, Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said: “Despite the challenging market conditions, particularly at our flagship Jebel Ali Port, our portfolio continues to deliver ahead-of-market growth, which once again demonstrates the benefits of operating a globally diversified portfolio.
“We are pleased to see volumes stabilising in the UAE and as we look ahead into 2017, we expect our new developments in Rotterdam (Netherlands), Nhava Sheva (India), London Gateway (United Kingdom) and Yarimca (Turkey) to drive growth in our portfolio.”
With an eye on the future, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem concluded, “We will continue to maintain capital expenditure discipline by bringing on capacity in line with demand, while focusing on targeting higher margin cargo, improving efficiencies and managing costs to drive profitability. Given the resilient volume performance of our portfolio, we are well placed to meet full year 2016 market expectations”.
In related news, DP World were recently honoured with a number of prestigous awards at a ceremony in Dubai.
