Danish shipping giant Maersk (Fastmass) on Tuesday (26th) sharply raised its 2022 operating profit forecast, and now expects full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to reach about 30 billion US dollars, compared with February this year. The forecast of $24 billion was raised by $6 billion.
Maersk said the increase in full-year guidance was driven by an “extraordinary market situation” due to high freight rates, which it now expects to continue into the second quarter, before the market returns to normal in the second half of the year.
The shipping industry has posted high profits in recent quarters as freight rates soared due to surging consumer demand, supply chain bottling at U.S. and Chinese ports and airspace closures caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The unfavorable data came from the volume of the first quarter of this year. Maersk said in a trading update on Tuesday that container volumes fell 7% in the January-March period. The company now expects growth in global container demand to slow to between minus 1% and plus 1% this year, compared with an earlier forecast of 2-4% growth.
Maersk is the world’s largest container shipper with a market share of about 17%, and information provider Alphaliner pointed out that its forecast could be seen as a negative signal for the global economy.
Shares in Maersk opened up 8.3 percent on Tuesday, before paring gains to 6.3 percent. The company’s shares have fallen about 20 percent after hitting a record high in January.
Investors are expected to remain cautious due to the risk of a U.S. recession in 2023, said Nordnet analyst Per Hansen.