DP World Limited handled 77.9 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) across its global portfolio of container terminals in full year 2021, the company said in a Monday filing with Nasdaq Dubai.
The gross container volumes increased by 9.4 percent year-on-year on a reported basis and up 8.9 percent on a like-for-like basis, it explained.
On a Q4 2021 basis, DP World handled 19.6 million TEU, up 2.6 percent year-on-year on a reported basis and up 2.3 percent on a like-for-like basis, said the company.
The 2021 gross volume growth was reportedly broad based, with India, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Europe, Australia, and the Americas being the key growth drivers.
At an asset level, Qingdao (China), Mumbai, Mundra, Chennai (India), Sokhna (Egypt), London Gateway (UK), Caucedo (Dominican Republic), Callao (Peru), and Sydney (Australia) reportedly delivered a strong performance.
Jebel Ali (UAE) handled 13.7 million TEU in 2021, up 1.9 percent year-on-year.
At a consolidated level, DP World’s terminals are said to have handled 45.4 million TEU during 2021, increasing 8.8 percent on a reported basis and 8.1 percent year-on-year on a like-for-like basis.
Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem was quoted by the filing as saying that growth rates “moderated” in the final quarter of 2021 as the new Covid-19 variant, inflation, and supply-chain bottlenecks impacted global growth.
“However, looking ahead to 2022, we expect our portfolio to continue to deliver growth and, while the year has started encouragingly, we remain mindful that the Covid-19 pandemic, continued supply chain disruptions, rising inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty could continue to hinder the global economic recovery,” he said.