Maersk has announced that it expects an underlying result from Maersk Line of around US$1.6 billion in the last six months of 2015, compared to an expected $2.2 billion, due to the general decline in freight rates that has had a negative impact on Maersk Line’s result by around $500 million.
Nils S. Andersen, CEO of Maersk, said: “It is regrettable that we have to adjust our expectations for the 2015 result. All of our business units delivered a positive result in Q3, 2015, despite difficult conditions across our industries.”
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The group’s preliminary reported result for Q3, 2015 is $778 million, with an underlying result of $662 million. The preliminary reported result for the first nine months of 2015 is $3.43 billion, with an underlying result of $3.080 billion.
The container shipping market has deteriorated beyond the group’s expectations especially in the later part of Q3 and October, 2015, and Maersk does not expect market recovery in 2015.
Nils Anderson added: “Maersk Line has over the years taken steps to ensure a cost effective and resilient operation, but the current deterioration in the container shipping market is impacting also our business.”
The group’s Interim Report for Q3, 2015 will be released on 6 November, 2015.
