DANISH shipping giant Maersk has posted a US$2.9
billion net profit in 2020, led by strongly rebounding fourth-quarter
demand from consumers in its major markets.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation,
and amortization (EBITDA) surged 44 per cent to $8.2 billion for the year.
Full-year volume declined 5.2 per cent year
over year to 12.6 million FEU, but average freight rates for 2020 increased
7.35 per cent to $2,000, with rates on the east-west trades up 12.3 per cent
compared with 2019, reports IHS Media.
Maersk has forecast volume growth of 3 to 5 per cent in
2021, with the highest growth occurring in the first half, and expects
container shortages and supply chain bottlenecks to continue at least through
the first quarter.
With these factors in mind, the carrier noted in its
financial guidance for 2021 that it expects EBITDA to be $8.5 to $10.5 billion
for the full year. The carrier has also set aside $4.5 to $5.5 billion for
capital expenditures in 2021 and 2022.
Revenue in the ocean segment in 2020 was up by 1 per cent
to $29 billion, but logistics and services revenue jumped 9.5 per cent to $6.9
billion, although terminals and towage revenue fell 3.7 per cent to $3.8
billion. But the growth levels were significant in the fourth quarter, when
ocean revenue was up 16 per cent, while logistics and services revenue rose 35
per cent, and terminals revenue was up 8.8 per cent.
Maersk CEO Soren Skou said
on the carrier's earnings call: "We would like to create a business where
we have around 50 per cent of our earnings from our ocean business, and another
50 per cent of our business from our logistics and terminals business at the
EBITDA level."
Maersk noted in its 2020 annual report that in 2021, the
carrier will continue to focus on growing the landside logistics, expanding its
product portfolio and increasing cross-selling and upselling to customers, with
the aim of driving profitable organic growth.
"We have a tremendous opportunity to grow our
logistics business and that is why it features so heavily in our strategy. That
is where we want to
create the growth engine," Mr Skou said. "We will
have to demonstrate organic growth, which we did with 22 per cent growth in the
fourth quarter. We will also have to do more acquisitions, because there are
some products that we need to have in some geographies."
Some of Maersk's fourth-quarter growth figures are
stunning. Fourth-quarter EBITDA in the ocean segment was up 96 per cent year
over year at $8.2 billion, almost $1 billion more than recorded in the last
quarter of 2019. Lower bunker prices were a significant contributor to this
operating result, but so were freight rates that, at an average of $2,192 per
FEU, were almost 18 per cent higher than in the fourth quarter of the previous
year.
Source : HKSG.
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