DP World reports 7.6% Gross Volume growth in Q4 2020

DUBAI: DP World Limited handled 19.1 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) across its global portfolio of container terminals in 4Q2020, with gross container volumes increasing by 7.6% year-on-year on a reported basis and up 6.5% on a like-for-like basis. On a FY2020 basis, DP World handled 71.2 million TEU, flat year-on-year and up 0.2% on a like-for-like basis.

4Q2020 Like-for-like 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 (UAE) handled 3.4 million TEU in 4Q2020, up 0.3% year-on-year.

At a consolidated level, our terminals handled 11.2 million TEU during 4Q2020, increasing 10.1% on a reported basis and up 5.2% on a like-for-like basis. On a FY2020 consolidated basis, DP World handled 41.7 million TEU, up 4.6% on a reported basis and down 1.8% on a like-for-like basis. The reported FY2020 growth of 33.3% in Americas and Australia region is mainly due to the consolidation of Caucedo (Dominican Republic) and acquisition of Fraser Surrey Docks (Canada).

Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem commented: We are delighted to report another set of positive volume figures for 4Q2020 with like-for-like growth accelerating to 6.5%. 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%. Overall, this once again illustrates the resilience of the global container industry, and DP World’s continued ability to outperform the market.

The growth in volumes was encouragingly across all our regions with India being a key driver, while our flagship port of Jebel Ali (UAE) saw volumes stabilizing.

We continue to invest selectively in projects that offer compelling value such as Dakar (Senegal) and Luanda (Angola). Our strategy to provide solutions to cargo owners has served us well, and our aim is to continue to build on this momentum.

Looking ahead, while 2021 has started encouragingly, the outlook remains uncertain given the continued issues surrounding the pandemic, geopolitical uncertainty in some parts of the world and the ongoing trade war.

Overall, the full year solid volume performance leaves us well placed to deliver a relatively stable financial performance in 2020. We remain focused on containing costs to protect profitability, managing growth capex to preserve cashflow and are confident of meeting our 2022 targets.