DP World has reported 9% like-for-like volume growth for the first nine months of 2014.
On a reported basis, gross container volumes grew by 10.1% during this period, with help from fresh volume at London Gateway in the United Kingdom and Embraport in Brazil.
The Dubai-headquartered port operator has handled 44.8mn twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEU) across its global portfolio of container terminals since the beginning of the year.
“Volume growth for the first nine months of 2014 has been impressive, and we remain encouraged by the third-quarter performance, which has grown 8.4% year-on-year on a like-for-like basis,” commented DP World chairman, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem.
“It is evident that the significant investment of recent years is aiding in the delivery of stronger volume growth,” he added.
Growth for the nine-month period was largely driven by the Asia Pacific and India Subcontinent regions, as well as by the firm’s European and UAE-based terminals. DP World’s flagship Dubai port handled 11.4mn TEU, representing year-on-year growth of 12.6%.
“Our flagship Jebel Ali port achieved yet another new record, with 4mn TEU handled in the third quarter,” said Sulayem.
“The port is operating at almost maximum utilisation and we are therefore pleased to announce that Terminal 3 is now operational, adding 2mn TEU capacity to Jebel Ali port.
“A further 2mn is expected to come online in the second half of 2015, taking total Jebel Ali capacity to 19mn TEU. This is part of our commitment to invest to meet future capacity demands in Dubai,” he explained.
At a consolidated level – terminals that are controlled by DP World as defined under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) – the firm’s terminals handled 21mn TEU during the first nine months of 2014, a 9.9% improvement in like-for-like performance.
At a reported level, the terminal operator says that the growth rate of 8.6% in consolidated volumes reflects the deconsolidation of its Hong Kong assets that took place in June 2013.
“The solid nine-month performance leaves us well placed to outperform the market, which is forecast to grow at approximately 5% in 2014,” said Sulayem.
“As always, we continue to focus on driving profitability by targeting higher margin throughput while containing costs and improving efficiencies. Overall performance remains in line with market expectations,” he concluded.