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DP World handled 70.1m teu across its global portfolio of container terminals in 2017, with gross container volumes up by 10.1% on a reported basis and by 9.7% on a like-by-like basis.
Both growth figures significantly exceeded Drewry Maritime’s global container throughout growth estimate of 6% for 2017.
In the fourth quarter, the global portfolio grew 10.3% year-on-year on a reported basis and 9.9% on a like-for-like basis with particularly strong contributions from terminals in Europe, the Americas and the Middle East and Africa.
The UAE, where DP World’s flagship Jebel Ali facility is located, handled 15.4m teu in 2017 up by 4.0% year-on-year.
Group chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem stated that the terminal operator had benefited “from the improved trading environment and market share gains”.
“We are also pleased to see stable performance in the UAE as volumes continue to grow in the fourth quarter of 2017 amidst uncertainty in the region and tougher year-over-year comparables,” he added.
Sulayem continued: “As we look ahead into 2018, we expect to continue to grow ahead of the market and see increased contributions from our new developments.
“We continue to seek opportunities in complementary sectors in the global supply chain and will maintain capital expenditure discipline by bringing on capacity in line with demand.”
In terms of gross volume, the Americas and Australia regions delivered the strongest growth of 13.8% on a reported basis and 13.0% on a like-for-like basis, totalling 8.8m teu.
The Europe, Middle East and Africa was another strong performer with 11.5% reported growth and 10.8% like-for-like growth, handling 29.3m teu.
At a consolidated level, the facilities handled 36.5m teu in 2017, a 24.7% improvement in performance on a reported basis and up 6.2% year-on-year on a like-for-like basis.
Reported consolidated volume in the Asia Pacific and Indian Subcontinent region was boosted by the consolidation of Pusan (South Korea) in December 2016.