A.P. Moller-Maersk saw its turnover increasing by 31 per cent to 10.1 billion dollar in the third quarter. Without the increase as a result of the takeover of Hamburg Süd, the shipping company reports an increase in turnover of 12 per cent. The rising line can be seen throughout all segments.
The Non-Ocean segment grew by 15 per cent, and now contributes nearly a third (31 per cent) to the shipping company’s total turnover. For the Ocean segment, volume increased by 27 per cent (5 per cent excluding Hamburg Süd). Because of this, Maersk increased more rapidly than the market average. “Regarding our activities in Ocean, the high bunker prices that aren’t completely compensated are challenging. Nevertheless, the improvement of the results continues in the third quarter,” says Søren Skou, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk. The average bunker price was 47 per cent higher than in the third quarter of 2017.
The underlying profit in the third quarter amounts to 251 million dollar against 254 million dollar in the same period a year earlier. The EBITDA increased by 16 per cent despite the higher bunker prices.
In the third quarter of 2017, the consequences of a cyber attack could still be felt. That attack on Maersk Line, APM Terminals and Damco resulted in lower volumes and higher costs in that quarter. “The explanation of the figures from year to year have to be seen in that light,” according to Maersk.
The shipping company expects an EBITDA between 3.6 and 4.0 billion dollar across all of 2018. That’s a small adjustment on the band width that was previously set to between 3.5 and 4.2 billion dollar. Besides, the shipping company expects a growth in volume in line with the market: 3 to 4 per cent. A slightly lower growth was estimated earlier.