In Port News 20/03/2015
DP World Ltd., the operator of ports from China to Peru, said earnings growth should accelerate from next year as terminal developments in Rotterdam, Turkey and its home base of Dubai spur an increase in container volumes.
DP World aims to boost capacity about 4 percent to 42 million twenty-foot equivalent units this year as it seeks to lift the total to 55 million by 2020, it said today. For so-called gross capacity, including facilities run by partners and affiliates, the five-year target is 100 million TEUs, it added.
Net income rose 12 percent to $675 million in 2014, higher than the $657 million expected by analysts, swelled by contributions from Brazil’s Embraport and the London Gateway development, which both opened the previous year. Volume growth in 2015 should be in line with or slightly ahead of the market, Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Sharaf said in a statement.
Earlier this week, DP World completed the purchase of Dubai industrial-parks operator Economic Zones World FZE for $2.6 billion from its own parent Dubai World, rather than see the complex sold to a rival. 2015 will be a “busy year” for new projects, with 8 million TEUs of gross capacity to be added at Yarimca, near Istanbul, Mumbai’s port of Nhava Sheva, Europe’s biggest port at Rotterdam, and Dubai’s Jebel Ali Terminal 3.
Senegal Interest
DP World, which lifted sales 11 percent to $3.41 billion last year, is “getting closer” to a decision on investing in Ecuador, and is “very interested” in developing a free zone in Senegal, where it’s awaiting government approvals, Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said at an earnings presentation.
Capital expenditure, including port expansion, is expected to range between $1.4 billion and $1.7 billion this year.
DP World financed the FZE deal with a combination of cash and a draw-down of about $500 million from a revolving facility, said Yuvraj Narayan, its chief financial officer.
The company has yet to utilize a $1.3 billion five-year revolving credit, $1 billion remaining from a $3 billion loan, and $610 million from a five-year Islamic murabaha facility.
The drop in oil prices has meant lower costs for DP World and should also stimulate growth in economies where many of its 65 marine terminals are located, Sulayem, said.
DP World will pay an annual dividend of 23.5 cents a share, up from 23 cents a year earlier.
