The company says its full-year guidance remains unchanged, with Q1 expected to be the strongest quarter of the year.
When it comes to Ocean, Maersk states its revenue decreased by USD 5.7bn to USD 9.9bn. According to the shipping giant, this is primarily due to lower freight rates and volumes created by softening demand.
However, the company maintains that proactive cost containment measures have been successful, and the Ocean contract negotiation season is proceeding in line with expectations.
As for Logistics & Services, Maersk has reported revenue growth of 21% to USD 3.5bn driven by the consolidation of acquisitions.
“Organically, Q1 was affected by lower volumes caused by inventory corrections, especially with North American and European retailers, which was partially offset by new commercial wins. Additionally, underlying business performance was impacted by lower rates in Air Freight and weaker demand in eCommerce,” says Maersk.
In Terminals, Maersk notes that the top line was affected by lower volumes and storage income, both a factor of lower demand and the release of port congestion. Revenue in Terminals decreased to USD 876m from USD 1.1bn.
Again, Maersk reiterated in its statement that strong cost control contributed to continued solid financial performance in Terminals.
Concluding its remarks on Q1 2013, Maersk said the quarter was marked by continued destocking in Europe and especially North America. The company added that while it is difficult to predict the exact timing, it expects volumes to gradually pick up in the second half of the year.
Looking forward to the rest of the year, Maersk guidance for 2023 remains unchanged.
“Guidance remains unchanged and is still based on the expectation that inventory correction will be complete by the end of H1, leading to a more balanced demand environment, that 2023 global GDP growth remains muted, and that the global ocean container market will grow in a range of -2.5% to +0.5%. Ocean expects to grow in line with market,” says the Danish shipping and logistics company.
Commenting on the results, Vincent Clerc, CEO of Maersk, said:
“We delivered a solid financial performance in a challenging market with lower demand caused by a continued destocking. Visibility remains low for the remainder of the year and moving through this market normalisation, we remain focused on proactively managing costs. As we adjust to a radically changed business environment, we continue to support our customers in addressing their supply chain challenges. We are pleased to note that customers continue to value the integrated logistics solutions and close partnership we provide.”
Photo: Wzhkevin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
