DP World Limited handled 14.2 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) across its portfolio of container terminals in the third quarter of 2012.
This was 1% lower than the same period last year reflecting the divestment of three joint venture terminals and a decline in volumes in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Like for like gross container volume growth in the third quarter was 0.5%.
Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem commented:
“During the third quarter of the year we have taken advantage of opportunities to reposition our portfolio towards higher return businesses where we have management involvement. These recent divestments allow us to recycle cash into projects already within our pipeline, such as Jebel Ali (UAE) and London Gateway (UK) and, over time, to invest in new opportunities in line with our strategy, while maintaining balance sheet strength and flexibility.”
Group Chief Executive Mohammed Sharaf commented:
“The third quarter of the year has seen a slowdown in container volume growth with some of our regions reporting a small decline in volumes reflecting the challenging macroeconomic environment. Despite this, our volume growth for the first nine months of the year reflects good growth over the prior period and whilst there remains uncertainty within the macro economy, we continue to believe we will achieve EBITDA in line with expectations.”
[mappress]
Press Release, October 30, 2012