DP World Ltd has announced growth of 3% in 2015 driven largely by European and UAE terminals.
The operator handled 61.7 million teus across its global portfolio of container terminals during 2015, with gross container volumes growing by 3.0% on reported basis and 2.4% on a like-for-like basis (the latter figure discounts volumes at Yarimca (Turkey), Prince Rupert (Canada), Stuttgart and Rotterdam).
The portfolio benefited from the ramp-up in London Gateway and the UAE handled a record 15.6 million teus, representing like-for-like growth of 2.3% for the year. Utilisation at Jebel Ali remains high at approximately 90%.
Terminals under DP World control handled 29.1 million TEU during 2015 representing a 2.7% improvement on a reported basis and 1.7% on a like-for-like basis.
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World commented: “The second half of 2015 was difficult for global trade operators, as various economic headwinds including currency weakness and lower commodity prices adversely impacted trade growth. Against this challenging backdrop, all our three regions continued to deliver full year volume growth on a like-for-like basis which demonstrates the strength of our portfolio.
Speaking of future investments, the Sultan added that “we expect to open our third berth at London Gateway (UK) in mid-2016, adding 600k TEU of new capacity. The additional 2 million TEU at terminal three (T3) Jebel Ali (UAE) will now be operational in the second half of 2016.”
“DP World has once again delivered ahead of market throughput growth in 2015 and given this resilient performance, we remain confident of meeting full year market expectations,” he concluded.
The Sultan was appointed group chairman and CEO of DP World in February. This appointment follows his previous role of chairman which he held since 2007, overseeing the expansion of DP World including the acquisition of CSX and the P&O Group.
