DUBAI, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Dubai Ports (DP) World said on Thursday that it handled 17.6 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) across its global container terminals in the first three months of 2018, up 7.3 percent year-on-year on a reported basis.
The port giant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which operates 78 marine and inland terminals across six continents, also said in an e-mailed statement that its terminals in Europe, Middle East and Africa and Australia performed particularly well in the first quarter.
"Following a strong year for the global container market in 2017 with peak levels since 2011, our portfolio has an encouraging start in 2018, delivering ahead-of-market growth," said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chief executive officer of DP World, the world's third largest commercial port company.
However, he warned of "geopolitical headwinds" in some regions against the firm's business.
"While the trade environment may appear more benign, geopolitical headwinds in some regions continue to pose uncertainty," Sulayem said.
"Nevertheless, we still expect to grow ahead of the market and see increased contributions from our new investments," he concluded.