Maersk Profit Beats Forecasts on Shipping Unit Strength -- Earnings Review

By Dominic Chopping

Denmark's A.P. Moeller-Maersk AS (MAERSK-B.KO) reported results for the second quarter on Thursday. Here's what we watched:

REVENUE: Revenue rose 0.5% to $9.63 billion, shy of the $9.83 billion expected by analysts.

NET PROFIT: The shipping firm posted a net profit of $141 million compared with a loss of $2 million in the year-earlier period, as the recovery at its main shipping business continued to gather steam. Analysts expected a net loss of $52 million, according to a consensus compiled by FactSet.

WHAT WE WATCHED:

FUEL AND RATES: The company's shipping unit saw volumes increase 1.4% while average loaded freight rates rose 1.5% to $1,868 for an FFE--a standard 40 foot container--in 2Q 2019. Total operating costs were largely unchanged as the impact from the higher volumes were partly offset by network improvements, including higher bunker efficiency, which resulted in a 3.5% decrease in the unit cost at fixed bunker.

GUIDANCE: Guidance was maintained for Ebitda at around $5 billion including the positive effects from the implementation of IFRS 16 in 219. The group's ocean unit is seen posting organic volume growth in 2019 in line with estimated market guidance for growth of 1%-3%. The company said that global container trade grew by around 2.0% in 2Q 2019 compared with 2Q 2018, in line with its full-year market guidance. The soft momentum reflects a broad-based slowdown in all the main economies, while negative effects from escalating trade restrictions also weighed on trade growth, it added.

Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]; @domchopping @WSJNordics

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 15, 2019 08:33 ET (12:33 GMT)

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