According to Alphaliner, the world’s second-largest container carrier Maersk reports a record quarterly profit. It also confirmed that it is on track to meet its full-year profit target of around $31 billion. However, the Danish group warned that the prospects for the consumer may be affected by the negative evolution of the world economy.
Maersk reported an operating profit of $8.73 billion in the third quarter, up from prior quarter’s profit of $8.62 billion. The company’s Ocean division also generated record revenue of $18.01 billion.
The average rate for a twenty-foot container was USD 2,523 per teu, higher than the previous quarter but still lower than the same period last year. Maersk noted that average rates have peaked.
Meanwhile, the group’s logistics division reported revenue of $4.81bn, up 60% from the previous year and the first-time segment revenue exceeded $4bn, though EBIT remained modest at $258m. USD. Overall, the net income across the Group reached USD 8.9. bn, an increase of 3% compared to the second quarter.
Future: higher costs, lower demand
But the group revised previous predictions for trade demand and said it now believed that, in addition to a decrease in congestion, global container demand would contract between -2% and -4% in 2022.
“With war in Ukraine, an energy crisis in Europe, high inflation, and a global recession looming, there are many dark clouds on the horizon. This weighs on consumer purchasing power, which in turn affects global demand for transport and logistics.
While we expect a slowdown in the global economy to lead to a weaker market in Ocean, we will continue to look for growth opportunities within our Logistics business,” said CEO Soren Skou.
Shipping gains in the third quarter were primarily driven by higher freight rates in the shipping and contract business in Asia-Europe and North America. However, this was partially offset by lower volumes and higher bunker, container handling and network-related costs.
Overall, operating costs increased 21% compared to the prior year to $5.8 billion, and bunker prices increased 78%. Excluding bunker costs, the increase in operating costs reached 7.9%.
Although the group did not change its full-year forecasts, they indicate a sharp drop in fourth-quarter profit. According to the predictions, the group’s EBITDA is expected to be around USD 6.7 billion in the last quarter of the year and EBIT of USD 5.3 billion, the lowest levels since the second quarter of 2021.
Source: Alphaliner
