The Danish market was recently rocked by Donald Trump's surprising statements concerning his intention to annex Greenland, a territory under Danish sovereignty. These comments led to a significant fall in Danish stock market indices. In addition, the possibility of a trade war initiated by the US President could exert upward pressure on international trade prices. Against this backdrop, Ap Moller Maersk has plunged by over 10% since January 1. But a pleasant surprise in the final quarter of 2024 almost erased this bad start.
Maersk posted a remarkable financial performance, with an impressive 65% increase in EBIT to $6.5 billion. This robust growth is the result of sustained demand for container transport and high freight rates, which benefited all segments of the company. Sales rose by 8% to $55.48 billion, exceeding the expectations of the consensus of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, who were expecting $54.76 billion.
Its Ocean segment performed particularly well, with rising profitability as a direct consequence of the geopolitical situation in the Red Sea and increased volume demand. Logistics & Services also enjoyed a prosperous year, with a 7% increase in sales and an improved EBIT margin. Terminals posted historic financial results, with revenue growth attributable to higher volumes and tariffs adjusted to offset inflation, which was high at the start of the year.
These strong performances are accompanied by a substantial USD 2 billion share buyback program, to be executed over a 12-month period, reflecting the company's confidence in its ability to generate shareholder value. In 2024, Maersk demonstrated its commitment to shareholders by redistributing USD 1.6 billion in the form of dividends and share buybacks. The demerger of Svitzer was also beneficial, with an additional return of 1.1 billion USD to shareholders.
Positive forecasts for 2025 in a complex sector
According to Maersk, the global container market recovered strongly in 2024, with growth of around 7% for the year as a whole. For 2025, Maersk, which anticipates the reopening of traffic in the Red Sea between the middle and end of the year, is forecasting an increase in demand of 3.5% to 5.5% for container transport, 2% to 4% for air transport and 3.5% for logistics activities. As a reminder, attacks from the Yemeni coast had damaged numerous cargo vessels.
The shipping giant continued its slide on the stock market, losing more than half its value from its January 2022 highs. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Maersk has suffered one setback after another in a complex environment. The company fell by 33% in 2022, then by 22% in 2023, before finally limiting its losses in 2024 to just 1.9%. Its German counterpart Hapag-Lloyd follows this trend. Only Cosco Shipping and Evergreen stood out during the year, recording increases of 63% and 56% respectively; even so, both companies had lost more than two-thirds of their valuation compared to 2022.
