Danish shipping major Maersk has raised its expectations for 2019 profit based on the financials for the third quarter and the updated outlook for freight rates, volumes and bunker fuel prices for the rest of the year.
The company said that its new expectation for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is in the range of USD 5.4 to 5.8 billion, up from the previous expectation for EBITDA of around USD 5 billion. The remaining part of the guidance is unchanged.
Despite slower global demand growth and lower freight rates in the third quarter of 2019, Maersk witnessed better than expected performance in Ocean driven by strong reliability and capacity management. This was combined with lower fuel prices and continued margin improvements in Terminal & Towage, which has resulted in stronger than expected financial performance in the quarter.
Revenue was USD 10,055 million during the third quarter, while EBITDA reached USD 1,656 million. For the first nine-months of the year, revenue stood at USD 29,222 million and EBITDA at USD 4,249 mill.
The company will detail its revised full year outlook at a later time.
Following the announcement, the company’s shares jumped by more than 7% on October 21.