- Group revenue grew 58% to US$14.2 billion in the second quarter and EBIT increased almost five times to $4.1 billion.
- In ocean, revenue grew to $11.1 billion and EBIT increased to $3.6 billion, fueled by a 15% rebound in volumes and an increase in average freight rates of 59%
- Logistics & services delivered 38% revenue growth to $2.2 billion in the second quarter
- Earnings in the third quarter are seen to exceed the level for the second quarter, and the current momentum in ocean should continue into the fourth quarter
A.P. Moller-Maersk posted record-breaking earnings in the second quarter of 2021 as congestions and bottlenecks continued to drive up rates sharply.
This also marks the 12th quarter of successive year-on-year earnings progress, said the world’s largest container shipping company.
Revenue grew 58% to US$14.2 billion in the second quarter and EBIT increased almost five times to $4.1 billion. The net result came in at $3.7 billion in the second quarter, bringing the net result for the first half of 2021 to $6.5 billion.
“The strong results benefited both from the exceptional circumstances in Ocean, where congestions and bottlenecks continued to drive up rates, and from solid progress in executing on our strategic transformation where we kept a firm focus on our customers need for integrated solutions across their supply chains,” said Soren Skou, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk.
Even as the entire Maersk group sees higher profits powered by the booming container shipping sector, the company continues to diversify by buying into “last-mile” e-retailing logistics as it also announced the acquisitions of Visible SCM and B2C Europe.
In ocean, revenue grew to $11.1 billion in the second quarter from $6.6 billion year-on-year, and EBIT increased to $3.6 billion from $0.5 billion. The growth came from a 15% rebound in volumes and an increase of 59% in average freight rates, as “both long-term contracts rates with key clients increased and short-term contracts were still impacted by congestions and bottlenecks,” said the company.
Logistics & services delivered 38% revenue growth to $2.2 billion in the second quarter. Demand was strong across all product families to enable EBIT to more than triple to $153 million compared to $42 million in the same quarter last year, leading to an EBIT margin of 7.1%.
The gateway terminals likewise had a strong second quarter with volumes rebounding 24% and persistent high storage income. Revenue increased to $969 million from $723 million last year, while EBIT doubled to $302 million, leading to an EBIT margin of 31.1%.
Skou said the group expects earnings in the third quarter to exceed the level for the second quarter and for the current momentum in ocean to continue into the fourth quarter, also benefitting its terminals business. Logistics & services is seen to continue its strong growth pattern for the rest of the year.
Skou reiterated the group’s upgraded guidance for 2021, with the underlying EBITDA now at $18 billion to $19.5 billion and the EBIT at $14 billion to $15.5 billion.
Ocean is still expected to grow in line with global container demand, which is now expected to grow 6% to 8% in 2021 (previously 5% to 7% in 2021), still primarily driven by the export volumes out of China to the US.
