DP World handled 19.3m teu across its global portfolio of container terminals in the first quarter of 2022, with volumes increasing by 1.7% year-on-year on a reported basis.
The growth, which was up 1.9% on a like-for-like basis was driven by the Asia Pacific, Middle East, Europe and Africa, and Americas regions.
Group chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said: “As anticipated 1Q2022 volume growth has softened due to the strong prior-year performance and uncertain macro environment.
“However, we continue to see robust growth in markets such as Asia Pacific and the Americas, while in Europe, London Gateway’s strong performance has continued into 2022. The softer volumes of Jebel Ali is due to loss of low margin throughput where we remain focused on more profitable origin and destination cargo.”
At an asset level, China’s Qingdao, Egypt’s Sokhna, the UK’s London Gateway and Turkey’s Yarimca delivered a strong performance.
Dakar in Senegal, Dominican Republic’s Caucedo, Argentina’s Buenos Aires and Posorja in Ecuador also helped to boost volumes while DP World’s flagship Jebel Ali handled 3.4m teu, representing a decrease of 1% year-on-year.
“Looking ahead, the near-term outlook is mixed given the geopolitical environment, but we remain positive on the medium to long term fundamentals of the industry,” Bin Sulayem added. “On our broader portfolio, we continue to make strong progress in strengthening our product offering, allowing us to connect directly with cargo owners to deliver a range of unique logistics solutions.”
Overall the company remains focused on integrating its recent acquisitions, growing profitability and while managing growth capex and delivering on its 2022 leverage targets.
