Maersk achieves record profit due to high demand, freight rates

COPENHAGEN: Driven by a huge demand for freight, coupled with increased freight rates, the Danish shipping giant Maersk achieved record profits in the third quarter of 2021, according to the company’s interim accounts.

“Revenue was up 68 per cent to $16.6 billion, compared with the same quarter [of the] last year, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation tripled to $6.9 billion and earnings before interest and tax was up almost five times to $5.9 billion,” Maersk CEO Soren Skou said in a written comment.

According to the financial report, the record breaking profit is mainly due to a positive development in Maersk’s main business in the ocean, which covers the activities with freight of containers at sea.

“In an unusual market characterised by high demand, primarily from the US and a global supply chain that has been challenged as a result of the pandemic, we continued to increase capacity and expand our offerings to keep cargo moving for our customers,” the Maersk CEO said.

The report also reveals that profitability for the third quarter increased substantially mainly due to an increase in revenues from significantly higher freight rates.

The business was still considerably impacted by congestion and network disruptions, which continue to put pressure on the global supply chains and resulting in higher operational costs, the report said.

The interim report also revealed that for the first nine months of 2021, Maersk has an audited revenue of $43.3 billion. In 2020, the company’s audited revenue was $14.2 billion.