Jacob Pedersen News

European energy companies, including Denmark's Orsted, will likely write down more of their U.S. offshore wind investments this week after BP and Equinor booked $840 million in impairments in recent days.Orsted, the world's largest offshore wind developer, said in August it may see impairments of 16 billion Danish crowns ($2.3 billion) on its U.S. offshore developments due to supply chain problems, soaring interest rates and a lack of new tax credits.Orsted, which was not immediately available for comment…

Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS said it will carry out a mix of minor and major technical upgrades over the next 10 years to reduce emissions by about 45% from 2008 levels. Ultimately, the company intends to become climate neutral by 2050.The company said it will use solutions like hull coatings and decision support systems on board vessels and in the office, as well as major fleet upgrades such as bulb and propeller modifications."The plan is based on careful analysis of how we operate today, and which areas have the greatest potential for improvement.

Freight rates on world's busiest route down 20.6 pct; forward contracts indicate continued weak 2016 market. Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe plunged by 20.6 percent this week and there is nothing to indicate that shippers can expect better rates in 2016, a container derivatives trader said. Freight rates for transporting 20-foot container (TEU) on the world's busiest route fell to $558 dollar from $703 a week earlier which is widely seen as a loss-making level. "Sadly for the carriers, at least, 2016 doesn't look like it will be much better," said Richard Ward from brokerage firm Freight Investor Services.

Container shipping demand at lowest since 2008 crisis; additional capacity supply far outstrips demand. Shipping and oil conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Friday third-quarter profit almost halved and global demand for container transportation this year would grow at a slower pace than previously expected. The Danish company, which operates the largest container shipping business in the world, kept a reduced forecast made two weeks ago for a 2015 underlying profit of $3.4 billion, down from the $4.0 billion previously expected. Maersk has taken a double hit to its businesses -- its oil units have floundered as crude prices halved since last year, while low trade volumes and an overcapacity of vessels have weighed on Maersk Line, the container shipping business.

Port operator APM Terminals, part of Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk, is buying 11 container ports from Spanish shipping and logistics group Perez y Cia to boost its presence in emerging markets and better serve bigger container vessels. No terms were given for the deal, which will increase APM Terminals' container ports to 74 from 63 including terminals in Colombia, Brazil and Mexico, but Nordea Markets estimated an enterprise value of around 1.35 billion euros ($1.5 billion), based on similar deals and other companies in the sector. APM Terminals Chief Executive Kim Fejfer said on Tuesday the deal would make the company better prepared to handle new alliances among container shipping companies and their new bigger vessels. The deal comes a day before A.P.

Shipping freight rates on the world's busiest route, from Asia to Northern Europe, fell by the largest percentage amount since 2008, reflecting wild volatility in the market as vessel operators continue to wrestle with overcapacity. Rates for transporting containers from Asia to Northern Europe plunged 32.5 percent to $444 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, a source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters. Shipping consultants Drewry reckon the Shanghai-Rotterdam and Shanghai-Genoa routes are the two most volatile among 11 that they track, with rates rising $1,000 or more per TEU over just a few weeks and then falling back down again.

Danish conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk may announce a second share buyback scheme in its 110-year history as early as Wednesday, analysts said, allowing it to reward shareholders as its oil unit takes a battering from a slump in prices. Further divestments from its large portfolio of companies may also be on the radar, funding any buybacks or at least increased dividends, with the world's largest container shipping company focusing more closely on the shipping and oil industries. Maersk's will present its fourth quarter results at 0700 GMT on Wednesday. Net profit is expected to rise 9.8 percent to $1.0 billion, boosted by a 59 percent rise in container shipping but hit by a 50 percent drop in its oil business.

Analysts disappointed by 2015 financial targets; shares fall over 6 percent. Danish wind turbine maker Vestas proposed its first dividend payment in 12 years after beating fourth-quarter profit forecasts, though its shares fell on what analysts described as conservative targets for 2015. The dividend payment is a sign Vestas Wind Systems has finally turned the corner after a tough few years during which it slashed jobs and costs as faltering economies and cutbacks in government subsidies hit demand for its turbines. Vestas proposed a dividend of 3.90 Danish crowns per share, equivalent to 29.5 percent of 2014 net profits, just below the 0.52 euros or 4 crowns expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.

Shipping freight rates for transporting containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell 20.5 percent to $934 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, a source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters. It was the largest ever weekly decline on the world's busiest freight route since the index began recording rates in 2009. A level below $1,000 is widely seen as a loss-making level for container shipping companies. Container freight rates have so far increased in 12 weeks this year but fallen in 33 weeks. Maersk Line, the global market leader with nearly 600 container vessels and part of Danish oil and shipping group A.P.

Container freight rates fell 10.2 percent on busy route; Maersk expects gradually declining rates. Freight rates for shipping containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe fell 10.2 percent to $738 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ended on Friday, one source with access to data from the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index told Reuters. It was the fourth consecutive week of falling freight rates on the world's busiest route and the rate is the lowest since Oct. 25 last year. Container freight rates have increased in 11 weeks this year but fallen in 29 weeks. Nils Smedegaard Andersen, chief executive of A.P. Moller-Maersk which controls the world's biggest container shipping company, has warned that the industry will have to get used to gradually declining rates.

Danish wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems posted much higher than expected second-quarter earnings and slightly increased its guidance for the full year, signaling its turnaround from the brink of collapse has taken hold. Its shares opened up more than 5 percent on Wednesday, touching a two-month high of 290 Danish crowns, and were trading 2.7 percent higher at 282.6 crowns by 0715 GMT. Vestas said earnings before special items jumped to 104 million euros ($138 million) from 12 million a year ago, compared to analysts' expectations of 63 million. Orders rose to 1,932 megawatt (MW) against a forecast 1,648. "The result is a lot better than expected and it is due to a gross margin of 19 percent," said Jacob Pedersen, analyst at Sydbank. "A gross margin of 19 is unusual for Vestas ...

Shares rise 5 pct after improved guidance, better quarter than expected. Maersk indicates more buybacks after first in its history. Efficiency, cost savings boost Maersk Line compared to rivals. Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk announced the first share buy-back in its 110-year history on Tuesday as an overhaul of the sprawling shipping and oil empire leaves it with more cash than it can usefully invest. Maersk shares jumped 5 percent after the company reported better than expected quarterly earnings and raised its 2014 profit guidance, as cost cuts at its container shipping arm help it navigate weakness in the global economy. "The share buy-back program ...

Danish shipping company D/S Norden, one of the biggest dry bulk shipping companies in the world, said it would not make a profit this year after posting a loss in the second quarter due to low freight rates and falling demand in Asia. The firm's loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased to $7 million against $3.9 million in losses a year ago and compared to the $19.3 million-loss expected by analysts polled by Reuters. The company lowered its EBITDA forecast for 2014 to range of a loss of $60 million and breaking even, from a previous guidance of a loss of $40 million loss to a profit of $60 million. "The market situation went from bad to worse in the quarter.

A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Tuesday it had abandoned a planned ship pooling network after China's Ministry of Commerce surprisingly announced it had not approved it. Maersk shares were down 6.2 percent at 1100 GMT compared with a 0.7 percent fall in the Danish benchmark index . The idea, known as P3 and announced last June, called for the company along with Swiss firm Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and France's CMA CGM to pool about 250 ships to cut costs. "This is very negative for Maersk. They won't achieve about one billion dollars in cost savings, equivalent to 5-6 percent of unit costs," analyst Jacob Pedersen from Sydbank said.

A.P. Moller-Maersk Q1 net profit $1.207 bln vs $1.072 forecast; Raises full-year outlook. Profit at A.P. Moller-Maersk's container shipping business, a bellwether for global trade, more than doubled in the first quarter as demand on the world's busiest route between Asia and Europe picked up and it cut costs. That helped the Danish shipping and oil group beat forecasts for net profit on Wednesday and prompted the company to raise its outlook for the full year. The jump in profit at Maersk Line, the world's largest container shipping company, is an early sign the company is starting to recover from several tough years in the industry. Container shipping firms have been struggling with overcapacity and too few goods to transport as a result of a weak global economy. A.P.

Significantly rising rates for Capesize vessels began in late September to spread to Panamax vessels, and gradually also to the smaller vessel types. Citing a recent Sydbank market analysis, Maritime Denmark, notes signs of a noticeably better dry cargo market. Sydbank senior analyst Jacob Pedersen is cautious in interpreting the current lift as evidence on better times, although he considers one can immediately write off structural overcapacity. Forward rates point to a decline in rates again in the near future - and a seasonally weaker market is expected with significantly lower rates in early 2014. Shipowners' newfound optimism - and there are quite a few orders for new ships - also warns of the need for caution. 
 Source: Maritime Denmark

Maersk, owner of the world’s largest shipping line, has benefited the most from the U.S. military’s dependence on commercial lines, according to a report in 'Longshore & Shipping News'. The company, based in Copenhagen, received almost half the military’s $1.82 billion in contracts last year to ship supplies and equipment around the globe, most of it tied to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Defense Department data. Maersk also arranges rail and truck transport as part of the agreements. While the military accounts for a small share of Maersk’s revenue, the work tends to offer higher margins because of its specialized nature, said Jacob Pedersen, an analyst with Sydbank A/S (SYDB) in Denmark.