Maersk deficit of 540 million dollar
The global economic crisis had a severe negative impact on the activities of the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group. The net result for the first half of 2009 was a loss of 540 million dollar, compared to a profit of 2.5 billion dollar in the same period of 2008
"The A.P. Moller - Maersk Group is still financially strong despite the fact that the economic crisis has developed worse than we anticipated. The financing of our newbuilding programme is essentially in place and we have engaged in a number of saving initiatives and postponed investments. But even more importantly, most of our business units are doing better than the market. We therefore have a strengthened believe that we will emerge as a stronger company on the other side of the crisis", says Nils S. Andersen, Group CEO of the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group.
The result for the second quarter was slightly better than announced, as the result, excluding impairment losses and write-downs of USD 200 million, was positive by USD 33 million.
Freight rates and volumes for the Group's container shipping activities were 30% and 7%, respectively, below the same period of 2008, and average rates for the tanker activities were considerably lower than in the first half of 2008.
The average lower crude oil price had a negative impact on the oil and gas activities, which was partly offset by an 8% increase in the Group's share of oil and gas production.
Gains on sale of ships, rigs, etc. were USD 79 million, compared to USD 735 million in the same period of 2008.
Segment results Million dollar
Container shipping and related activities:
- 96 APM Terminals
172 Tankers, offshore and other shipping activities
178 Oil and gas activities
504 Retail activity
149 Shipyards, industrial companies, Danske Bank
- 32
"The result for the second half of 2009 is expected to be at the same level as the first half year. The outlook for the remainder of 2009 is subject to considerable uncertainty, not least due to the development in the global economy. Specific uncertainties relate to the development in container freight rates, transported volumes, the USD exchange rate and oil prices", the management says in a statement.
Source: A.P. Moller - Maersk
