DP World and ICTSI Lead Revenue Growth in 2023
Dubai-based DP World solidified its position as the top global container port operator by revenue in 2023, recording a year-on-year increase of 5%. Along with the rapidly expanding Philippines-based port group ICTSI, these were the only companies among the eight global port operators with annual sales exceeding USD 1 billion to show clear revenue growth.
DP World’s Ports and Terminals division generated USD 6.4 billion in revenue in 2023, marking a 5.1% increase from the previous year. The company’s adjusted EBITDA rose by 4.7% to USD 3.3 billion. DP World has focused on high-margin cargoes and expanding in gateway ports in emerging markets. After several sluggish years, its flagship port, Dubai-Jebel Ali, has rebounded post-COVID, re-entering the top 10 list of global ports.
Manila-based International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) also reported strong financial performance for 2023, with a 6.5% increase in revenues to USD 2.4 billion and an operating profit of USD 1.2 billion. ICTSI boasted the highest operating margin among major global port operators at 51%. Having won the concession to operate Manila’s largest container terminal in 1988 and expanding internationally in the 2000s, ICTSI managed 32 terminals worldwide by the end of 2023. This includes nine in the Americas and eight in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with business outside Asia accounting for half of the group’s 12.7 million TEU throughput. Despite the revenue increases, DP World and ICTSI’s throughput growth was comparatively modest at 3.1% and 4.3% respectively in 2023.
PSA and Hutchison Face Revenue Declines
Singapore-based PSA International experienced an 11.2% drop in revenue for the year despite achieving record volumes of 94.8 million TEU in 2023, up 4.0% year-on-year. The group attributed the revenue decline to challenging market conditions and weak trade demand. Nonetheless, it managed to limit the fall in annual operating profits to -2.6% by significantly reducing costs.
Hutchison Port Holdings, part of CK Hutchison, formerly known as Hutchison Whampoa, saw a 7.5% decline in revenue in 2023, accompanied by a significant drop in operating profits. The Hong Kong-based operator, which manages terminals in five of the world’s ten busiest container ports, saw its throughput decrease by 3.0% to 82.1 million TEU last year. The decline in the importance of the port of Hong Kong, which marked its seventh consecutive year of throughput declines in 2023, along with decreases at Hutchison’s European terminals, contributed to the revenue drop.
COSCO SHIPPING Ports, the world’s largest port group by capacity, reported flat revenues in 2023, with sales increasing by less than 1%. However, the group was slightly more profitable at an operating level compared to 2022.
