DP World Profit Sinks 34 Percent

DP World, the world’s fourth largest container terminal operator, warned of tough conditions ahead as net profit in the first half of 2009 fell by around a third from a year ago on lower box volume.

The Dubai-based company’s net income fell 34 percent to $187.7 million in the six months to June 30 from $275.3 million in the same period in 2008 as revenue shrunk to $1.38 billion from $1.59 billion.

Container traffic fell 10 percent to 12.3 million 20-foot equivalent units from 13.6 million TEUs in the second half of 2008.

“The first six months of 2009 continued to present a very challenging operating environment across the [terminal] portfolio,” DP World said in a statement.

The company expects box volumes to increase slightly in the second half but this will be offset by a decline in non-container operations, including bulk traffic.

DP World, which operates 49 terminals across the world, has put around half of its planned capacity expansion on hold. Among the affected projects is the flagship 3.5 million TEU-a-year London Gateway terminal on the River Thames which remains under review.

DP World anticipates capital expenditure of between $800 million and $1 billion in 2009.

Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarnard47@hotmail.com.