AP Moller-Maersk group quarterly profit up 151pc to US$933 million
DANISH transport giant AP Moller-Maersk Group has posted a "better-than-expected" third-quarter profit of US$933 million, up 151 per cent year on year.
While crediting good performances by Maersk Line and Maersk Oil for the robust result, the company said it had been negatively impacted by vessel impairments of $267 million on some of Maersk Tankers' crude and product tanker segments.
"We deliver a good result for the quarter considering the challenging economic environment. Thanks to our rate initiatives and cost reductions, Maersk Line is back in black figures year-to-date, and the high oil price supports a satisfactory result for Maersk Oil," said group CEO Nils S Andersen.
"We are expanding our terminals network in Latin America, Russia and other growth markets and expect our strategic initiatives to support both our returns and earnings stability as we move forward," he said.
Maersk Line's profit for the period was $498 million, reversing the loss of $289 million one year ago with an average rate increase of 5.7 per cent to $3,022 per FEU.
The carrier said rates were higher on all main trades. But volumes were unchanged at 2.1 million FEU. Headhaul volume on Asia-Europe trade dropped 15 per cent. Average unit costs were down six per cent due to decreased bunker consumption per FEU and network optimisation.
APM Terminals' profit for the period was $160 million, down 7.5 per cent year on year. But the EBITDA margin was at 23.5 per cent, up 0.3 percentage point from 23.2 per cent one year ago. Volume throughput rose four per cent to nine million TEU, equivalent to a two per cent increase on a like-for-like basis.
The company said the robust developments in Africa and Americas helped offset reductions in the ports for Asia-Europe trade. APM Terminals signed an agreement to acquire a co-controlling 37.5 per cent ownership interest in the listed company Global Ports Investments PLC (Global Ports). Subject to regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close in 2012.
Said Mr Andersen: "We are expanding our terminals network in growth markets, most recently with Global Ports in Russia. We strive to grow in Latin America as well and have just received approval from authorities to open our new Santos terminal in Brazil in the first quarter of 2013. Callao in Peru is already in operation and in Costa Rica and Mexico, we are approaching the construction phase."
Maersk Line made a profit of $126 million for the first nine months, up 215 per cent from $40 million recorded in the same period last year. The volume grew nine per cent to 6.5 million FEU and the average freight rates, including bunker surcharges, increased 0.2 per cent.
Looking ahead, the AP Moller-Maersk group expects a result for 2012 around $3.7 billion, up 8.8 per cent from last year's 3.4 billion.
For Maersk Line, the carrier expects a modest positive result in 2012 due to higher average rates in the second half of the year. It anticipates global demand for seaborne containers to grow modestly in 2012 with a decline in inbound European volumes.