Maersk to cut 10,000 jobs, sees weaker FY profit as shipping demand wanes

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COPENHAGEN, Nov 3 (Reuters) – Shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) on Friday reported a steep drop in profit and revenue in the third-quarter, and said it would cut 10,000 jobs as it battles with lower freight rates and subdued demand for container shipping.

The Danish company also kept its full-year guidance for revenue and operating profit but now expects both to land at the lower end of the range.

“Our industry is facing a new normal with subdued demand, prices back in line with historical levels and inflationary pressure on our cost base,” CEO Vincent Clerc said in a statement.

“Since the summer, we have seen overcapacity across most regions triggering price drops and no noticeable uptick in ship recycling or idling,” he said.

The group already in August warned of a steeper decline in global demand for shipping containers by sea this year, due to slow economic growth and destocking in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maersk said it aims to cut its workforce from 110,000 in January this year to below 100,000, which will result in saving next year of $600 million compared to this year.

A one-time cost of $350 million related to the restructuring would mostly impact its 2023 financial performance, it said.

The company said it expects underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the year at between $9.5 billion and $11 billion, while underlying earnings before interest and taxes are expected between $3.5 billion and $5 billion.

EBITDA plunged to $1.9 billion in the third quarter from $10.9 billion a year earlier, slightly above analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion in a Refinitiv poll. Revenues fell 47% to $12.1 billion.

Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Louise Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Miral Fahmy

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Based in Copenhagen, Jacob oversees reporting from Denmark, Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Specializes in security and geopolitics in the Arctic and Baltic Sea regions, as well as large corporates such as brewer Carlsberg and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk. His most impactful reporting on Arctic issues include a report on how NATO allies are slowly waking up to Russian supremacy in the region, uncovering how Greenland represents a security black hole for Denmark and its allies, and how an abundance of critical minerals has proven a curse for Greenland.
Before moving to Copenhagen in 2016, Jacob spent seven years in Moscow covering Russia’s oil and gas industry for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal, followed by four years in Singapore covering energy markets for WSJ and Reuters. As a Russian speaker, he has been involved in covering the war in Ukraine. He publishes a newsletter each weekday focused on the most important regional and global news. Contact Jacob via email if you are interested in receiving the newsletter.

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