Maersk Line Stays in Profit
In Q3, the revenue of A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S’ continuing operations increased by 14% year on year driven by higher freight rates in Maersk Line. The underlying profit was USD 248m, with an improvement of USD 290m in Transport & Logistics and a decline of USD 15m in Energy.
For A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S, the third quarter of the year was a defining quarter of major change, where strong and viable solutions were found for Maersk Oil and Maersk Tankers.
Furthermore, today A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S has announced that the Salling Companies will acquire the remaining 19% shares in the Dansk Supermarked Group. A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S’ now expects a positive underlying profit (loss of USD 546m).
Transport & Logistics now expects an underlying profit of around USD 1bn and an improvement in Maersk Line of around USD 1bn compared to 2016 (loss of USD 384m).
“I am pleased with the agreements reached in Q3 for Total S.A. to acquire Mærsk Olie og Gas A/S and A.P. Møller Holding to acquire Maersk Tankers A/S, which indicates a solid progress in the separation of the Energy businesses. Whilst solutions for Maersk Drilling and Maersk Supply Service remain to be defined before the end of 2018, the future Maersk will leverage even further its position of strength within Transport & Logistics,” says Søren Skou, CEO of A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S.
Transport & Logistics reported a revenue growth of 14% to USD 8bn. Performance was challenged from the June cyber-attack of which the financial impact is in the range of USD 250-300m. The cyber-attack primarily impacted July and August and the vast majority of the impact is related to Maersk Line that reported an underlying profit of USD 211m and a positive ROIC of 4.3%.
“The revenue increased in Transport & Logistics by 14% and was mainly driven by higher revenue in Maersk Line. Market fundamentals stayed positive with global container volume growth at 5% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year and an increase in nominal supply of 3%. However, contingency initiatives related to recovery after the cyber-attack resulted in a negative development in Maersk Line volumes of 2.5% and increase in unit cost of 3.9% at fixed bunker prices,” says Søren Skou.
Transport & Logistics continues to develop new digital services to customers offering better and simpler products across the supply chain. In September, Maersk Line launched the Remote Container Management for customers, which provides customers shipping refrigerated cargo with an unprecedented understanding of their supply chain.
