The A.P. Moller–Maersk (Maersk) group said it delivered “strong financial results for 2023”, in line with its expectations for the year.
According to Maersk, revenue for 2023 was $51.1 billion, with an EBIT margin of 7.7 per cent, impacted by falling freight prices.
While volumes increased across most categories, and excellent cost management helped improve earnings, rates continued to fall, notably in Ocean.
Maersk noted that Ocean’s strong schedule reliability and cost-cutting measures mitigated the impact of rising supply.
The Danish shipping conglomerate emphasized that its financial performance remained good due to excellent cost reduction, but declined over the year as continued severe market conditions resulted in considerably lower freight prices.
Logistics & Services won new business, although revenue decreased due to destocking at the start of the year and reduced prices. Profitability fell compared to 2022, although a greater emphasis on cost control helped maintain margins and reset the cost base.
Terminals maintained a steady performance and achieved another successful year.
“The current market remains one of robust volumes, but while the Red Sea crisis has caused immediate capacity constraints and a temporary increase in rates, eventually the oversupply in shipping capacity will lead to price pressure and impact our results,” the CEO of A.P. Moller–Maersk, Vincent Clerc, said.
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