DP World volumes down 8 per cent

Dubai: DP World, the world's fourth largest port operator, said on Tuesday that the fourth quarter would be challenging but expects 2009 results to be in line with market expectations.

Its global container volumes for the first nine months of this year dropped 8 per cent from the same period last year, while volumes in the UAE were down by 5 per cent.

The third quarter performed stronger with international volumes down 6 per cent year-on-year.

The port operator has said it has postponed some of its own capacity expansion plans — including the London Gateway project which combines a deepsea container port with a logistics park on the Thames east of London — to focus on developments nearing completion.

Last week, bankers said that DP World is sounding out banks for a loan backing the construction of the London Gateway.

"The final quarter of 2009 will continue to present challenges with tough prior year comparators, particularly in the UAE region where we also anticipate a continuation of significant non-container revenue declines," Mohammad Sharaf, Chief Executive of DP World, said.

Since the beginning of the financial crisis, the international shipping business has declined as production hit a speed bump.

"From last year, volumes have been significantly down across the globe. We see decreases of up to 30 per cent all over the world. That is climatic on a global scale.

"The UAE is now so much in the global economy that it clearly has seen a major outfall of the crisis, but the situation here is not as bad as the general world trend either," said Ulrich Koegler, principal at Booz and Co, a research and consultancy firm.

With inputs from Reuters