A P Moller - Maersk today announced the acquisition of Hamburg-based logistics company Senator International, confirming the ‘rumours’ reported by Freight News on Friday (https://rb.gy/wflrdj).
This is just one of the good-news stories announced with its latest set of results, which reveal that the company delivered record Q3 earnings. Revenue climbed 6% to US$ 16.6bn, while Ebit was up almost five times to US$ 5.9bn and Ebitda tripled to US$ 6.9bn.
APM CEO Søren Skou described the Senator acquisition as a natural next step in the expansion of the company’s multi-logistics offering.
And that’s not where its acquisition trail ends - It’s also pushing for a greater share of the airfreight market, evidenced by an order for additional aircraft.
“We are expanding our own-controlled fleet with three leased cargo planes, operational from 2022, and purchasing two Boeing aircraft newbuilds to be deployed by 2024,” said Skou.
In its ocean freight sector, results in Q3 were driven by high freight rates in an exceptional market with revenue almost doubling to US$ 13.1bn from US$ 7, says Skou. Ebitda increased by US$ 4.4bn to US$ 6.3bn and Ebit improved by US$ 4.4bn to US$ 5.3bn.
In addition, the line increased its share of long-term contracts which now account for 64% of long-haul volumes compared to 50% a year ago.
Its logistics division maintained its positive momentum, with revenue increasing 38% to US$ 2.6bn. Ebit increased to US$ 194m from US$ 100m in the same quarter last year - and with an Ebit margin of 7.5%, it’s well ahead of the company’s midterm target of above 6%.
Gateway Terminals also recorded a strong Q3, with revenue growing to US$1bn in Q3 from US$ 816m last year as volumes increased by 9.6%.
The company has retained its guidance for the full year, predicting an underlying Ebitda in the range of US$22-23bn, an underlying Ebit in the range of US$18-19bn and a free cash flow of minimum US$14.5bn.
