“Increased earnings momentum” for Maersk

AP Moller-Maersk said it continued to build momentum in the second quarter (Q2), reporting volume growth across all segments and improved financial performance.

According to the logistics giant, EBIT margin reached 7.5 per cent in Q2, compared to 1.4 per cent in the first quarter.

Results were driven by increased profitability in the ocean segment, solid growth in logistics and services and ”excellent performance” in terminals, it noted.

Based on the prolonging of the crisis in the Red Sea and a continued robust market demand, Maersk said it upgraded its guidance for 2024 on 1 August.

”Our results this quarter confirm that performance in all our businesses is trending in the right direction,” said CEO Vincent Clerc.

”Market demand has been strong, and as we have all seen, the situation in the Red Sea remains entrenched, which leads to continued pressure on global supply chains,” he outlined. ”These conditions are now expected to continue for the remainder of the year.

”We have invested in additional equipment in all our businesses to adapt to the situation and continue supporting our customers through the disruptions.

”As we look ahead, our focus remains on leveraging organic growth while exploring opportunities for value-accretive acquisitions particularly in logistics,” Clerc added. ”We will maintain tight cost control and high asset utilisation, and further execute on our fleet renewal programme.”

The ocean segment saw strong volume growth and higher freight rates in Q2, primarily in Asia exports, reflecting increased supply chain pressure, while the situation in the Red Sea and rerouting south of Cape of Good Hope continued to lead to higher operating costs.

Profitability ”returned to positive territory”, Maersk said, and while below the same quarter last year, performance was ”significantly better” compared to Q1 2024 and Q4 2023.

As announced on 1 August, due to continued supply chain disruptions caused by the ongoing situation in the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden and robust container market demand, Maersk raised its financial guidance.

The company said it now expected global container market growth to be between 4-6 per cent and to grow in line with the market, compared to the previous expectations of towards the upper end of 2.5-4.5 per cent.