Dubai: DP World handled almost 50 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) last year as business jumped 14 per cent on the back of strong growth in emerging markets, the company said yesterday.
Throughput at its ports worldwide increased 10 per cent year on year in 2010 on a like-for-like basis; excluding contribution from new additions to the company's portfolio in Peru, Vietnam and China.
DP World, majority owned by the global investment company Dubai World, said the figures reflected a strong performance in the Australia, America and Asia Pacific regions as well as a return to growth in Europe.
Mohammad Sharaf, Chief Executive Officer of DP World, said he expected the company's strong growth to continue in 2011 with the global container market predicted to grow by seven per cent this year.
Milestones
He said: "Handling 50 million TEU across our global portfolio is a major milestone for DP World and puts our annual throughput for 2010 well ahead of historic peak levels seen in 2008, reflecting the faster growing emerging market focus of our portfolio."
"As we enter 2011, we expect to see our terminal operations build on the operational and financial performance of 2010. We remain confident about the long-term outlook for the container terminal industry and our strong competitive position within it."
Sharaf said he expected DP World to report strong financial results for 2010 as a result of a record second half performance that saw the region back at 2008 levels.
Volumes for DP World's consolidated terminals grew nine per cent to 27.8 million including 7.3 million TEU handled in the fourth quarter, 12 per cent ahead of the same period last year.
Sharaf also said the company was on track to list some of its shares on the London Stock Exchange in the second quarter after postponing its plans last year.
"These results reflect the continued position of Jebel Ali as the premier gateway for cargo into the Middle East. We are delighted to see the region back at 2008 levels reflecting the strong growth in both the UAE and the broader Middle East economies, which our terminals support."
In a busy few months for the company, DP World sold a 75 per cent stake in its Australian unit in December 2010 and two weeks ago it launched its new container terminal at Port Qasim near the Pakistani city of Karachi.
The UAE handled 11.6 million TEU in 2010, four per cent ahead of 2009 with the fourth quarter delivering growth of seven per cent handling over three million TEU. The performance of the region in the second half of 2010 sees a return to peak levels previously seen in 2008 with 6.1 million TEU handled in the six month period.
