Maersk raises proŽt guidance on strong demand and Red Sea con‘ict

Shipping group Maersk raised its full-year pro€t guidance after reporting €rst-quarter earnings on Thursday, citing strong demand and longer sailing times to avoid con£ict in the Red Sea.

The company, viewed as a barometer of world trade, said that shipping disruptions caused by Houthi militants’ attacks on vessels in the Red Sea were expected to last at least until the end of the year, adding that growth in

Maersk posted a third straight quarterly loss in the ocean container shipping division

demand for container shipping had been stronger than forecast.

High volumes

“The container volumes we see today are quite high compared to GDP growth in the world economy,” said CEO Vincent Clerc. “At one point or another, we will see a normalisation of volumes,” he added.

Maersk and rivals have diverted ships around Africa since December to avoid attacks by the Houthi militants, sending freight rates higher because of the longer sailing times.

‘Adjusted networks’

“We have only seen an escalation of the situation in the area and therefore we can see that not only Maersk but all shipping lines have adjusted their networks more or less permanently,” Mr. Clerc said.

Maersk now expects full-year underlying EBITDA between $4 billion and $6 billion this year, compared with previous guidance between $1 billion and $6 billion.

EBITDA stood at $1.59 billion in the €rst three months of the year, compared with $1.46 billion expected by analysts in an LSEG poll, and $3.97 billion a year earlier when freight rates were boosted by a pandemic-related boost to demand.

Still, Maersk posted a third straight quarterly loss in its ocean container shipping division, mainly owing to higher costs related to the Red Sea disruptions.