AP Moller-Maersk’s logistics unit Damco plans to make new acquisitions in India to expand its presence in the market.
Damco India, the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, is hoping to expand significantly over the next few years, helped along by India’s 12-15 per cent annual growth in containerised cargo.
“This year, we will be making investments in the warehousing space and also expand our freight forwarding business inorganically,” said Damco’s South Asia CEO Lars Sorensen.
“We will look at a player with an Indian base and with a significant presence in air and ocean freight. As a group, last year our net profit was about US$5bn, so the size of acquisition is not a worry for us.”
India currently represents 5 per cent of Damco’s total seafreight and supply chain management volumes, reported the Financial Express, and 10 per cent of its global airfreight volumes.
Damco is aiming to expand its truck numbers from 150 to 600-700 in one to two years, according to Mr Sorensen, as well as expanding its warehousing operations.
“Till now, we had negligible presence in the warehousing arena,” he said. “However, we are forming a strategy, which will be announced in the coming four to five months from now. We might go in for six to eight warehouses, and have one centrally located either in Nagpur or Hyderabad.”
