Global container volumes have continued to rebound, said A.P. Moller – Maersk, and are expected to hold steady throughout the fourth quarter of 2020.
Maersk told investors today that it anticipated to report an unaudited revenues of $9.9 billion (£7.6 billion) and an EBITDA before restructuring and integration costs of $2.4 billion for the third quarter of 2020. It said this performance had been driven by a “continued recovery in demand” as well as “initiatives to improve cost”.
It did add that volumes in its Ocean sector declined by “around 3%” in Q3 2020 compared to previous year; a performance which was slightly better than anticipated.
Chief Executive Søren Skou said: “A.P. Moller – Maersk is on track to deliver a strong Q3 with solid earnings growth across all our businesses, in particular in Ocean and Logistics & Services.
“Volumes have rebounded faster than expected, our cost have remained well under control, freight rates have increased due to strong demand and we are growing earnings rapidly in Logistics & Services. The outlook for Q4 is solid for the same reasons, and we are therefore able to upgrade our expectations for the full year.
However Skou added: “The outlook for 2021 remains uncertain due to the ongoing pandemic. The positive impact from stimulus packages may be less strong in 2021, potential new lock downs will impact demand and the timing and effectiveness of a potential vaccine will impact 2021.”
Maersk said it also expected to take a restructuring charge of around $100m in Q3 2020 related to the redundancies of approximately 2,000 employees following changes to the organisation in its Ocean and Logistics & Services divisions.
Maersk will publish its Q3 interim result on 18th November.
