The company, one of the more profitable assets of debt-laden Dubai World, also said that on an unconsolidated basis, it handled 14.2 million TEU in the quarter, up 2.4 percent from a year earlier like-for-like. Including the impact of divestments over the past year, unconsolidated volume declined 0.4 percent in the quarter. DP World cited an "improved performance from our Asia Pacific and UAE terminals", with the UAE accounting for 3.6 million TEU. "After a challenging first half in 2013 we are encouraged by the positive uplift witnessed in the third quarter - market guidance remains unchanged as our target remains gross like-for-like volumes in line with 2012," chief executive Mohammed Sharaf said in a statement. "With market conditions still uncertain, we continue to focus on driving profitability by targeting higher margin throughput and improving efficiencies." (Reuters)