DP World Bullish on Volume Growth in 2018

Dubai-based terminal operator DP World Limited is off to a good start in terms of volume growth across its terminals.

The company handled 17.6 million TEU across its global portfolio of container terminals in the first quarter of 2018, marking an increase of 7.3 percent for gross container volumes year-on-year on a reported basis, and 8.4 pct on a like-for-like basis.

This is well ahead of Drewry Maritime’s industry estimate of 4.6 pct global throughput growth for the first quarter of 2018, DP World said announcing the results.

The rise in volumes in the first quarter was driven by continued recovery in global trade, with the company’s terminals across Europe, Middle East & Africa and Australia, delivering growth.

“Following a strong year for the global container market in 2017 with peak levels since 2011, our portfolio has had an encouraging start to 2018 delivering ahead-of-market growth,” Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem commented.

Specifically, UAE handled 3.8 million TEU, growing 2.9 pct year-on-year in Q1 2018. At a consolidated level, DP World’s terminals handled 9.2 million TEU during the first quarter of 2018, a 6.6 pct improvement in performance on a reported basis and up 6.8 pct year-on-year on a like-for-like basis.

“While the trade environment may appear more benign, geopolitical headwinds in some regions continue to pose uncertainty. Nevertheless, we still expect to grow ahead of the market and see increased contributions from our new investments.

“The first quarter volume performance demonstrates that our portfolio is well positioned to deliver growth, and our continued focus on delivering operational excellence as well as a disciplined investment should ensure that we remain the port operator of choice across geographies,” Bin Sulayem said.