DP World first half volume down 10%

DP World first half volume down 10%    Volume at DP World's global container terminals fell 10 percent in the first half of 2009.
   The Dubai-based terminal operator, one of the world's five biggest by annual volume, shrank from 13.6 million TEUs in the first six months of 2008 to 12.3 million TEUs this year.
   Volume at DP World's flagship port, Dubai's Jebel Ali, fell 7 percent. That's better than the industry as a whole, but given the growth Jebel Ali has experienced the past decade, shows how far trade volumes have fallen off.
   “The first six months of 2009 have seen some of the most challenging operating environments our industry has ever known,” said Mohammed Sharaf, DP World chief executive officer, in a statement.
   The company has operations at 49 terminals on six continents, but for accounting purposes, its container throughput figures cover only the 26 ports it owns or where it has operational control, the Associated Press reported. Throughput for all its terminals topped 20 million TEUs in the first half.
   DP World did not release financial figures from the first half, but Sharaf said the reduced volume would lead to 'an inevitable fall-off' in first half profit. Last year, the company made a first half profit of $287 million from continuing operations, while throughput rose 21 percent from the first half of 2007.