Danish logistics and shipping giant Maersk reported Thursday that its third-quarter revenue increased sixfold from a year earlier. The reason for this was the high costs the company incurred in its efforts to protect trade through war zones, according to a press release from the world’s second-largest container shipping company.
AP Moller – Maersk, or Maersk for short, continued to grow the company in the third quarter. (Photo: Wolfgang Weiser) Internet sales from July to September increased to $3.049 billion, while income increased 30% to $15.76 billion.
The transportation group expects operating revenue of $5.2 billion to $5.7 billion. The previous forecast was $3.0 billion to $5.0 billion.
“This quarter, we continued to support our customers during a period of high volatility and limited predictability,” said Vincent Clerc, CEO of AP Moller-Maersk.
Opportunities in the Purple Sea are well rewarded
Due to the risk of attack by Houthi militias, Maersk, like other shipping companies on the Asia-Europe route, avoided the Red Sea and chose the longer route around South Africa.
“The rerouting of routes south of the Cape of Good Hope remains a significant value proposition for gas consumption and operating prices,” the company said.
In Q3 2023, freight costs were 54% higher than the company’s lowest cost to date.
By 2024, Maersk expects international container traffic to increase by 6%.
On the inventory front, Maersk’s report gave the Danish company a big boost at midday, which has since eased back slightly after profit-taking.
Swiss financial giant UBS has kept its rating on AP Moller-Maersk at “neutral” with a value target of 11,000 Danish crowns. The quarterly report offered little in the way of new developments, analyst Cristian Nedelcu wrote Thursday morning, according to news agency dpa.
Here it is: Maersk’s quarterly report