DP World reports 7.6% gross volume growth in Q4 2020

Dubai-headquartered global port operator DP World Limited revealed on Monday that it handled 19.1 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) across its global portfolio of container terminals in Q4 2020.

As a result, its gross container volumes increased by 7.6 per cent year-on-year on a reported basis and up 6.5 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

For the fiscal year (FY) 2020, DP World handled 71.2 million TEU, flat year-on-year and up 0.2 percent on a like-for-like basis.

In Q4 2020, the gross volume growth was mainly driven by India, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Americas with a strong performance from Mundra (India) London Gateway (UK), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Antwerp Gateway (Belgium) and Sokhna (Egypt).

In Americas, growth was driven by DP World Santos (Brazil) and Vancouver (Canada).

Jebel Ali in Dubai meanwhile handled 3.4 million TEU in Q4 2020, up 0.3 percent year-on-year.

At a consolidated level, DP World terminals handled 11.2 million TEU in the last quarter of 2020, increasing 10.1 per cent on a reported basis and up 5.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

On a FY2020 consolidated basis, DP World handled 41.7 million TEU, up 4.6 per cent on a reported basis and down 1.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

The reported FY 2020 growth of 33.3 per cent in Americas and Australia region, the company said in a statement, was mainly due to the consolidation of Caucedo (Dominican Republic) and also the acquisition of Fraser Surrey Docks (Canada).

“This strong end to the year resulted in flat growth in 2020 which compares favourably against an industry that is estimated to be down 2.1 percent,” said Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World.

He added while the growth in volumes was encouragingly across all regions, with India being a key driver, DP World’s “flagship port of Jebel Ali saw volumes stabilising.”

“We continue to invest selectively in projects that offer compelling value such as Dakar (Senegal) and Luanda (Angola),” he said.

Last month, DP World signed a 20-year concession agreement with the government of Angola to operate the Multipurpose Terminal (MPT) at the Port of Luanda.

Read: Dubai’s DP World signs 20-year concession agreement with Angola

DP World said that it will invest $190m over the 20-year period on upgrading the port, with the upgrades expected to increase the terminal’s annual throughput to approximately 700,000 TEUs per year.

In a move to safeguard against the virus, DP World said earlier this week that it had initiated a vaccination drive for its employees and their families in Jebel Ali Port that aims to cover over 10,000 employees and their families.

Read: Dubai’s DP World rolls out Covid-19 vaccination drive