DP World is aiming to outperform average annual market growth this year after reporting a 9.3 per cent rise in throughput in the first half of the year.
Gross container volumes that the Dubai-based ports operator handled rose to 29.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) during the period.
On a reported basis, gross volumes grew by 10.7 per cent, taking into account the extra volume provided by its new operations at London Gateway in the UK and Embraport in Brazil.
“Our impressive performance in the first half of 2014 shows we have the right capacity in the right locations. The market is forecast to grow at approximately 5 per cent in 2014, and we remain confident in our ability to outperform it,” said Mohammed Sharaf, the DP World group chief executive.
Growth in the first half of the year was mainly propelled by an improved performance from the company’s Asia Pacific and Indian subcontinent, Europe and UAE terminals, it said.
Continuing strong performance in some emerging markets and the start of a recovery in developed economies is helping world trade to rebound from growth of just 2.1 per cent last year, according to the World Trade Organization.
DP World has positioned itself to benefit from the longer-term tilt in trade towards emerging markets. It has added to its portfolio of more than 65 terminals, with this year the first full year of operations for Embraport terminal in Santos, which has a first phase capacity of 1 million TEU.
It is also completing the new 4 million TEU container terminal 3 at Jebel Ali, taking capacity at the company’s flagship facility to 19 million TEU. During the first half of the year, Jebel Ali also handled 7.4 million TEU, representing growth of 14.1 per cent.
“Our flagship Jebel Ali port continues to achieve new records, with 3.8 million TEU handled in the second quarter,” said the DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.
DP World remains an active player in developed markets, such as Europe, where economic growth has recently re-emerged after the euro-zone crisis. It holds port operations in Belgium, France, Germany, Romania and Spain. It is close to launching operations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In November last year it began work at London Gateway, with a capacity of 3.5 million TEU per year when fully developed.
Growth in Europe continued to accelerate in the second quarter of this year, DP World said.
At a consolidated level, DP World’s ports handled 13.9 million TEU during the first half of the year, an 11.2 per cent improvement in like-for-like performance. On a reported level, the growth rate of 8.5 per cent in consolidated volumes reflected the disposal of Hong Kong assets in March last year.
tarnold@thenational.ae
Follow The National's Business section on Twitter
