Maersk profits higher than expected, outlook tempered

QUARTERLY FIGURES

Danish container shipping company and freight forwarder A.P. Møller-Maersk expects global demand for containers to decline this year. According to the group, which is seen as a barometer for world trade because of its activities, this is due to the deteriorated economic outlook. Still, the third quarter was better than expected with $9.5 billion in profit.

Maersk, which controls about one-sixth of the global container trade, now predicts that global demand for containers will decline between 2 percent and 4 percent this year. Previously, the group had expected a decrease in demand of 1 percent to an increase of 1 percent.

Maersk raised its profit forecast for the second year in a row in August on the back of continued strong demand for container transport and soaring freight rates. With congestion in ports easing and demand for consumer goods declining due to high inflation, chief executive Søren Skou said “it is clear that freight rates have peaked”.

The group nevertheless saw its profit before interest and taxes rise to nearly $9.5 billion in the third quarter. That was more than the $8.6 billion than economists had forecast. Maersk also stuck to its full-year profit forecast. The company warned earlier this week that freight rates are falling faster than expected and warehouses in the United States and Europe are beginning to fill up for the important holiday season, while consumer demand for goods is declining.