A.P. Møller-Mærsk has achieved an outstanding financial performance for the first quarter of 2022 ahead of previous expectations with a revenue of US$19.3 billion, an underlying EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) of US$9.2 billion and an underlying EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) of US$7.9 billion.
The Danish group has also upped its full year profit guidance to a whopping $30 billion.
“The strong result is driven by the continuation of the exceptional market situation within ocean, which has led to a 7% decline in volumes and an average 71% increase in freight rates compared to Q1 2021,” the Danish shipping company said in a statement on Tuesday.
As a consequence of the strong first-quarter results, Maersk has revised upwards its full-year earnings guidance, because the company expects that the current market situation will continue in the second quarter combined with higher contracted rates.
Underlying EBITDA is now expected to be around US$30 billion, representing an increase of about US$6 billion; underlying EBIT is expected around US$24 billion, up by US$5 billion, and a free cash flow above US$19 billion, increased by around US$4 billion.
Maersk noted that the current earnings guidance is still based on an assumption of normalisation in the ocean sector early in the second half of 2022.
Based on volume developments in the first quarter, the company has revised downwards its outlook for the growth of global container demand from 2-4% to -1/+1%.
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