A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk), the largest container shipping line in the world, saw its revenue grow by 26% in 2018 as it enjoyed growth across all segments of its business.
In total, the carrier made US $39 billion in 2018 and non-Ocean revenue, including logistics, terminals, manufacturing and others, accounted for 32% of its revenue.
Its Ocean revenue rose to 29% and Maersk credited this to the successful integration of Hamburg Sud, which it bought at the end of 2017.
Credit: A.P. Moeller-Maersk
Excluding Hamburg Sud, revenue in the Ocean segment grew by 5.8%, as the carrier benefitted from the global increase in freight rates.
Latin America and Intra-America markets, as both grew by 27% on 2017’s revenue figures.
Logistics and Services’ revenue also jumped by 5.4% due to higher intermodal volumes in inland haulage, volume growth from supply chain management and revenue growth in warehousing activities.
PRESS RELEASE: Maersk accelerates transformation and grows revenue in 2018. #MaerskResults https://t.co/x1lreyNgHi pic.twitter.com/bSNRxwogYk
— Maersk (@Maersk) February 21, 2019
Furthermore, revenue also grew in the Terminals and Towage segment – this was driven by higher volumes in gateway terminals from Ocean and external customers.
Overall, Maersk saw the biggest growth in Africa, which rose by 29% compared to 2017, with Latin America and North America both rising by 27%. Asia-Europe grew by 22%, while Oceania rose by 21%.
In a statement accompanying its financial results, Maersk said the figures show its attempts to diversify its business operations are working.
A recent Port Technology technical paper explored ways the supply chain can prosper in a fast-changing world
“Based on the foundation laid in 2018 we will accelerate the transformation in 2019,” Maersk said.
“We are confident that the company has the right strategy and are building the capabilities to successfully transform the company and improve our profitability in the years to come.”
Maersk’s CEO Soren Skou, said: “In 2018, we made significant progress in implementing our strategy.
“We have successfully integrated Hamburg Süd, accelerated our digital transformation and come together across sales, customer service, delivery and products as one company with customers at the center of our attention.
“We are starting to see growth both in Ocean and non-Ocean segments.
“Although we had a challenging start to 2018, looking at our financial performance, we increased earnings despite significantly higher bunker fuel prices and lower than expected container volume growth in the second half of 2018.
“However, profitability needs to improve.”
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