Maersk reports new record profit as freight prices soar

COPENHAGEN

Danish shipping giant Maersk yesterday posted record profits in the first quarter as container freight prices continued to soar, allowing it to again raise its 2022 outlook.

After registering record-beating profits for the full-year 2021, the group said its first-quarter net profit had more than doubled to $6.8 billion (6.5 billion euros) on the back of a 55-percent jump in sales to $19.2 billion.

The record earnings exceeded the previous quarterly high of $6.1 billion reported in the fourth quarter of 2021, despite a $718-million provision following its decision to stop deliveries to and from Russian ports due to the war in Ukraine.

Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping line along with Italy’s MSC, has posted robust profits since the second half of 2020.

Demand for shipping plunged at the start of the COVID pandemic, but has rebounded strongly since mid-to-late 2020.

However, bottlenecks still persist in many ports, particularly in China in recent weeks amid draconian anti-Covid measures.

“Port congestions eased slightly from their peaks in the U.S. in the first quarter, while they increased further in Europe and China,” said Maersk, which has a fleet of more than 700 vessels.

“This continued to result in shortages and challenged supply chain management
services and kept rates elevated”, it said.