Dubai-headquartered DP World said gross container volumes across its global portfolio increased by 10.2% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2020.
Overall the company handled 18.9m teu in what was described in a statement as a “strong start to the year”, particularly at terminals in India and Australia.
DP World’s Jebel Ali terminal handled 3.5m teu in the first three months of the year, up 2.6% year-on-year.
“We are delighted with the strong start to 2021 with our portfolio delivering 10.2% volume growth in 1Q 2021, which is once-again ahead of industry estimated growth of 8.9%. This performance is ahead of expectations and illustrates the resilience of the global container industry, and DP World’s continued ability to outperform the market,” said Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem.
“Overall, the strong start to the year leaves us well placed to deliver an improved performance in 2021, and despite the more benign trading environment, we remain focused on containing costs to grow profitability, managing growth capex and continued execution of our strategy of delivering supply chain solutions to beneficial cargo owners.”
He admitted the business “performed better than expected” in 2020 despite reporting a 27% drop in profits from the previous year.
