Dubai port operator DP World sees 'resilience' for global container industry; records 11.9% gain in container volumes

Dubai: The Dubai owned ports operator DP World recorded a 11.9 per cent increase in container volumes in the first nine months of 2021, an indication that the near-term outlook “remains positive”.

But the company said the final quarter could see more moderate growth, keeping in mind continued supply chain disruptions.

Growth in these nine months were drawn by improving numbers from its Mumbai, Qingdao (China) and Sokhna (Egypt) interests as well as the flagship Jebel Ali. The latter handled 3.4 million TEUs in the third quarter, a marginal 0.6 per cent increase on last year.

"We are delighted to report another strong quarter for DP World with throughput growth of 8.1 per cent, which is once again ahead of industry growth of 6.4 per cent," said Sultan Bin Sulayem, Chairman and CEO. "This strong performance illustrates the resilience of the global container industry, and DP World's continued ability to outperform the market.

New spending on track

According to him, "We are pleased with the year-to-date performance and remain focused on growing profitability while managing growth capex. The strong nine-month volumes leave us well placed to deliver an improved set of full year results and we remain focused on delivering our 2022 targets.

"Encouragingly, all our regions continue to deliver volume growth with India being a key driver, and we continue to make solid progress on our strategy to deliver supply chain solutions to beneficial cargo owners."