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Bloomberg
A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, the world’s biggest shipping line, forecast 2019 profit below analysts’ estimates and said trade disputes are dimming the outlook for world economic growth. Shares plunged.
Maersk said that Ebitda, a measure of operating profit, will be around $4 billion for the year, compared with an average estimate of $4.77 billion in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. The shares sank as much as 13 percent in Copenhagen, marking their worst day since June 2016.
Chief Executive Officer Soren Skou said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that while there’s now “positive momentum†in US-China talks, the focus may shift to Europe. Demand in Maersk’s ocean segment will grow only 1 percent to 3 percent, he said.
Maersk is a trade bellwether because its ships carry almost one-fifth of the world’s containers, and analysts said the forecast is a cause for concern in the wider industry.
“Maersk and its container shipping peers face a real test of demand, we expect trade is in for a significant slowdown in 2019 as we are past the inventory buildup phase driven by cargo front-loading,†said Rahul Kapoor, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence in Singapore.
In a note to analysts, Fearnley Securities referred to the “growing uncertainty†around Maersk, saying that “overall soft guidance, 20 percent below expectations, and high uncertainty leaves continued poor risk-reward in our view.†Maersk also announced the final stage in its efforts to unwind a conglomerate structure that had once relied on both energy and transport.