A.P. Moller – Maersk had a strong start to the year, with Q1-21 delivering robust earnings and growth momentum across all its businesses in ocean, port services and logistics. The company benefitted from strong demand in a market still influenced by the pandemic and significant disruptions in global supply chains.
Strong demand coupled with significant operational challenges such as bottlenecks, lack of capacity and equipment shortage in global supply chains drove freight rates up significantly. At the same time, customers’ demand for truly integrated supply chains and simple, self-service solutions has never been more evident and this provides momentum, especially for logistics and digital solutions.
Overall in Q1, EBITDA increased to $4bn from $1.5bn year-on-year and EBIT to $3.1bn from $552m compared to the same quarter last year, while revenue improved by 30% to $12.4bn. The results reflect the high volumes, which are up 5.7%, significant increases in freight rates of 35% and lower bunker fuel prices, leading to an EBITDA in Ocean of $3.4bn compared to $1.2bn in Q1 2020, and an increase in revenue to $9.5bn from $7.2bn.
Logistics & Services continued with strong growth momentum and a revenue increase of 42% in Q1 to $2bn, mainly driven by organic growth, but also with growth from the acquisitions of Performance Team and KGH Customs Services. EBITDA increased by 201% to $205m compared to $8m, and EBIT increased to $139m compared to $29m same quarter last year, partly driven by margin expansion.
Also, Gateway Terminals had a strong Q1 performance, with revenue increasing by 24% to $915m from $740m led by higher volumes and storage income, while EBITDA increased by 52% to $323m from $213m.
“A.P. Moller – Maersk delivered an exceptionally strong performance in Q1 2021 with record profit for the quarter. The high growth and profitability were driven by solid demand across Ocean, Logistics and Terminals. Strong demand led to bottlenecks and a lack of capacity and equipment, which drove up freight rates to record-high levels,” said, Søren Skou, CEO of A.P. Moller – Maersk.
Source: Maersk
