While the world found new ways to adapt to the new normal, we transformed our business by navigating unexplored territories, digitising the supply chains, partnering with the world’s greatest show – Expo 2020 Dubai, and expanding our logistics network.
By connecting the world through trade, we made 2021 the year where we took one step closer to our vision to lead the future of world trade.
"While the world continues to grapple the societal and economic shocks that impacted our way of life, our challenge was to help our customers to navigate their way through these unprecedented times."
H.E.Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem
Group Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
OUR HIGHLIGHTS
US$17,127m
Revenue
Revenue is in US$ million before separately disclosed items. The results of the Group are set out in detail in the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes commencing on page 95 on the annual report.
US$5,014m
Adjusted EBITDA
Growing adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and amortisation) is a key measure of value delivered to shareholders. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated including our share of profit from equity accounted investees before separately disclosed items.
US$1,438m
Profit attributable to owners
Profit attributable to owners of the company is before taking separately disclosed items into account and after minority interest.
29.3%
Adjusted EBITDA margin
Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and amortisation) is a key measure of value delivered to shareholders. The adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing adjusted EBITDA by revenue.
NEW PARTNERSHIPS
We added two new partners in Jebel Ali with global investors – Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Hassana Investment Company (Hassana) – strengthening our balance sheet to meet our long-term growth and end-to-end supply chain strategy objectives.
LAUNCH OF DP WORLD FOUNDATION
We launched the DP World Foundation to streamline our local, regional, and international humanitarian initiatives and support causes associated with health, education, and food.
INTRODUCTION OF A POWER LANE
Combining the strengths of our Maputo container terminal, Unifeeder’s direct sailing services, and Imperial’s market expertise – we linked three key regions with a trade power lane – Africa, Middle East, and the Subcontinent to connect South African citrus farmers to the world.
LOGISTICS OF THE WORLD
In February, we fully acquired Imperial Logistics to enhance our global logistics capability and provide end-to-end supply chain solutions, in Africa and beyond.
INTRODUCING OUR 100,000TH EMPLOYEE
We introduced our 100,000th employee – Fatima Alburaimi, a Technical Programme Engineer based in Dubai.
DECARBONIZATION: TOWARDS NET ZERO
To support our decarbonisation efforts, we expanded the coverage of our carbon emissions reporting. We now report seven additional categories under Scope 3 emissions reporting.
182 DAYS OF 2020 DUBAI
e concluded Expo 2020 Dubai this year by sharing our vision for global trade with more than a million people, government delegations from key markets, connecting with presidents, prime ministers and ministers from priority markets and signing 16 agreements.
FIRST EVER GLOBAL FREIGHT SUMMIT
We hosted our first Global Freight Summit this year with the theme – “Better Information Builds Better Connections”. We invited C-Suite executives and other senior decision-makers from the freight forwarding and logistics industry to come together for three days to hear from influential speakers and network with peers, with a focus on how we can tackle the supply chain’s greatest challenges and biggest opportunities.
With a vision to lead the future of world trade, we are working towards providing end-to-end supply chain solutions for our customers and partners.Our dedicated, diverse and professional team of more than 103,000 employees from 75 countries are committed to bringing every customer and partner unrivalled value.
Our Global ReachBUSINESS REVIEW
DP WORLD EXISTS TO RESHAPE GLOBAL TRADE FOR THE BETTER. BY COMBINING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE WITH OUR EXPERTISE, WE ARE CREATING STRONGER AND MORE EFFICIENT END-TO-END SOLUTIONS ACROSS OUR NETWORK. THIS MEANS SEAMLESS SUPPLY CHAINS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
The well-documented disruptions to global supply chains in light of the pandemic and geopolitical conflict have made the delivery of goods less reliable. Businesses are looking for new and better solutions that make their logistics more efficient, agile, and stable. They want specialised local-to-global expertise that can help move goods where others cannot. Subsequently, there is a demand for partners who can provide more sustainable, cost-effective solutions to simplify complex logistics challenges.
DP World harnesses the best expertise and the most comprehensive end-to-end infrastructure in the industry –integrating best-in-class facilities, multi-modal transport solutions, digital solutions and market access capabilities into seamless end-to-end supply chains.
We are reshaping and future-proofing supply chains to be more sustainable, faster, and more cost-efficient. We do this by creating seamless ways of moving goods and creating access to new markets. We are innovative and agile in our thinking, opening trade routes to previously underserved markets and regions that unlock global trade to more parts of the world.
The integration of recent acquisitions has strengthened our proposition and reinforced our position as the leading strategic global trade partner for our customers.
THROUGHOUT THE DISRUPTIONS OF THE LAST YEAR, OUR PORTS AND TERMINALS HAVE MAINTAINED A STRONG OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE, PARTICULARLY IN OUR EQUIPMENT UP-TIME WHERE WE ARE IN THE 99TH PERCENTILE
Over the past year, we have completed the rebuild of our Vancouver terminal, continued to expand our Callao terminal and construction started in Senegal at the Port of Ndayane. We also successfully closed the proof of concept for Boxbay high-bay storage system and selected its primary location. Meanwhile, operations have gone from strength to strength at new sites such as Luanda, achieving significant milestones in the first full year of operations.
We continue to streamline operations, lower costs, and reduce environmental impact for businesses and their customers by improving safety and efficiency at our ports.
This year, we announced our five-year decarbonisation plan and there has been a renewed focus on leveraging electrification opportunities, particularly electric terminal tractors and RTG (rubber-tired gantry cranes). More green electricity is being used at our ports and terminals operations, with almost a fifth of electricity now coming from green sources.
The strong relationships we have built with our key customers continue, with long-term partnerships signed across our portfolio, such as the UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and India. These renewed connections are a testament to the confidence our customers have in us and our competitive advantage.
WE ESTABLISHED ECONOMIC ZONES AND LOGISTICS PARKS TO OFFER CUSTOMERS GREATER OPPORTUNITIES TO TRADE THROUGH OUR GLOBAL NETWORK
These unique offerings are key to unlocking seamless trade. They give our customers connectivity and an environment to shorten the supply chain and bring real cost savings.
Our footprint connects ports to the rest of the supply chain through multimodal connectivity and one-stop shops that offer real value-added services. We work with our customers to create bespoke warehousing and logistics facilities.
We help to level the playing field by investing in previously underserved nations and regions to create new market access opportunities for business while making the global supply chain more resilient.
In the last year, we completed construction on the Berbera Economic Zone, Mumbai FTWZ, Posorja Special Economic Zone, and the South Carolina Gateway Project. Agreements were also signed for the Jeddah Logistics Zone and the Sokhna Economic Zone, with several operations to begin in 2023.
DESPITE DECADES OF GLOBALISATION, THERE ARE STILL PARTS OF THE WORLD THAT TRADE DOESN’T REACH
Our broad set of capabilities includes feedering, shortsea, ferries, railways and port services allows us to go further – getting goods to smaller and more local destinations anywhere in the world.
Because we are multimodal in our operations and global in our reach, we can create more options to move goods by sea, road, rail, and air.
Collectively, we added more than 23,000 nautical miles of new trade routes across the globe in the first three quarters of 2022, equivalent to a complete circumnavigation of the earth.
Our agility and flexibility reduce costs and improve access for consumers and businesses alike. It is also more sustainable – not only minimising the impact by getting goods onto smaller vessels or lower carbon modes but creating more resilient trade that ensures people get access to the goods they want.
Unifeeder Group, which makes up part of the Marine Services pillar, has evolved from being the best-connected feeder and shortsea network in Europe and the Mediterranean to become a global logistics company. By acquiring feeder and regional trade operators it now provides full-scale capability in Northern Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent and Asia.
For example, Unifeeder was able to expand its market-leading direct service between Maputo, Jebel Ali and Mundra to include a Mombasa Port call. This new port call in Mombasa has reduced the transit times for goods travelling to Nairobi by two to five days because we can combine sea freight with rail freight.
We also created synergies between the marine services businesses to strengthen our performance, bringing valuable solutions to our customers and increasing market penetration in various regions. In May, for example, we created a joint venture between P&O Ferries and Unifeeder Shortsea to create P&O Ferrymasters – a single brand standing for unique intra-European multimodal transportation and logistics service.
THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC HAS FORCED THE SHIPPING AND LOGISTICS INDUSTRY TO ADOPT NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO KEEP MOVING
Digital adoption and efficiency improvements in the shipping and logistics industry have been slow for years but this changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the global crisis forced the sector to adopt new technologies to keep moving. Subsequently, there has been an accelerated focus to deliver the transformative benefits of digitisation at every point in the supply chain journey.
We are leading this transformation, revolutionising all aspects of global trade through innovative technology solutions that make it easier to finance shipments, expand markets and geographies and make the shipping journey more visible, agile, and resilient.
We have created a suite of digital products and services designed specifically to meet the challenges of the supply chain, combining the agile mindset of the technology industry with our decades of deep experience in logistics.
DP World Trade Finance provides access to finance to keep shipments moving. We offer security and agility that comes with complete visibility of goods in transit through end-to-end tracking solutions and guarantee the best shipping rates through our digital logistics platforms. We enable market access and cross-border e-commerce and reduce costs in the supply chain through our partnership with World Logistics Passport.
In November 2022, we also held the inaugural Global Freight Summit in Dubai, bringing together members of the freight community to discuss the most pressing issues in our industry.