Increases in ocean freight volumes and freight rates helped to buoy AP Moller-Maersk’s second quarter results which saw a 17% increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to US$ 1.4 bn in Q2 compared to the same quarter last year. Revenue grew slightly to US$ 9.6bn, which is on par with last year, and the underlying profit increased to US$ 134m from US$ 15m in Q2 2018.
“Q2 was a quarter of solid progress,” said CEO Søren Skou. “Cash flow improved 86% year on year, driven by continued recovery in ocean.”
On the back of the increases in volume and freight rates, ocean EBITDA in Q2 increased 25% to US$ 1.1bn. “The ocean business continued to recover with enhanced unit cost, utilisation and reliability - and revenue grew 2.9% to US$ 7.2bn compared to Q2 2018,” he said.
