The container ship Maersk Murcia lies within the port of Gothenburg, Sweden, on August 24, 2020.
Jonathan Nakstrand | AFP | Getty Pictures
Maersk, one of many world’s greatest container delivery companies, reported a decline in fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday however posted the most effective full-year ends in its historical past.
The Danish large, broadly seen as a barometer for international enterprise, mentioned earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose to $6.5 billion within the fourth quarter, beating the Refinitiv consensus analyst estimate of $6.77 billion. and under $8 billion. identical quarter of 2021.
Associated Funding Information

This took the full-year underlying EBITDA determine to $36.84 billion, barely under the corporate’s ahead steerage of $37 billion, however its strongest full-year outcome to this point.
Maersk skilled an “extraordinary” yr in 2022 as a result of continued will increase in ocean freight charges, however flagged in its record-breaking third-quarter earnings report that these charges had peaked and referred to as for a normalization by former CEO Soren. Additionally will negatively have an effect on revenue. Skow warns of “darkish clouds on the horizon”.
New CEO Vincent Clarke, who took the reins earlier this yr, mentioned in an announcement on Wednesday that 2022 has been “outstanding in additional methods than one”.
“As we report the most effective monetary ends in the corporate’s historical past, now we have taken the partnership with our prospects to a brand new degree by supporting their provide chains end-to-end throughout a extremely disruptive time,” Clarke mentioned.
“As we enter a yr with a difficult macro-outlook and new forms of uncertainties for our prospects, we glance to speed up our enterprise transformation and improve our operational excellence to grab the distinctive alternatives earlier than us. are agency.”
The worldwide container market will develop between -2.5% and +0.5% in 2023
Loaded volumes declined 14% yr over yr within the fourth quarter, whereas loaded freight charges decreased 3.5% yr over yr, inflicting income to fall barely to $17.8 billion for the quarter.
Maersk additionally took a $511 million hit in the course of the yr from efforts to wind down its operations in Russia, with the final word intention being to exit the nation completely.
The corporate reported $6.5 billion in free money circulation within the fourth quarter of 2022 and issued share buybacks of $685 million, in comparison with the prior yr.
Maersk raised its dividend from 2,500 DKK per share to 4,300 Danish krone ($620.33) per share.
For 2023, Maersk expects underlying EBITDA to fall to between $8 billion and $11 billion.
It mentioned the steerage was “based mostly on the expectation that stock correction will likely be accomplished by the top of H1, resulting in a extra balanced demand surroundings, that 2023 international GDP development will stay muted, and that the worldwide ocean container market will develop in a variety of – 2.5% to +0.5%.”
source_url
#Maersk #Earnings