DP World first half volumes up 7.5pc to 28 million TEU, but pace slackens

THE world's third biggest port operator, Dubai's DP World, handled a total of 28.2 TEU in the first half of the year with a 7.5 per cent rise, or an increase of two million TEU, in gross container volumes over the same period last year but said uncertainty in the global economy was slowing growth of the industry.

Volumes at DP World's consolidated terminals rose marginally in the first half to 13.6 million TEU from 13.5 million. "We are not seeing double-digit numbers as we saw earlier. There is some impact (of the global uncertainty) in terms of growth, but we continue to grow at a rate faster than the industry," chief financial officer Yuvraj Narayan said in a conference after the earnings release.

The weak trade in Europe was offset by growth in the Asia-Pacific region and the Indian subcontinent; combined volumes in those regions rose 12.1 per cent to 13.3 million TEU. Europe, Middle East and Africa volumes grew 3.2 per cent to 11.6 million TEU, according to Reuters.

"The global macroeconomic uncertainty seen in the first quarter of the year has continued, and if anything, has increased through the second quarter," chief executive Mohammed Sharaf said in a statement.

The port operator was forced to hand over its 60 per cent holding in Adelaide's container terminal to Flinders Port in July, after the Australian firm exercised its right to buy the stake, the newswire reported.