A drop in Net Profit of 86% was the result presented by Nils Andersen, CEO of the Danish group A. P. Moller- Maersk, who announced the company’s performance during the first quarter of 2016 (Q1).
Andersen explained that low oil prices (around $30 a barrel) and the lower shipping rates had a negative impact on the group’s profits, calculated on $224 million.
“So, weve gone through a difficult quarter from a market perspective. Nevertheless, we improved the results versus Q4 last year, coming out with a small profit, and we are pleased with that”, said Andersen.
[caption id="attachment_4372" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Nils Andersen. CEO of A.P Moller- Maersk[/caption]The CEO added: “Most of our businesses are still making money; the two that are not is Maersk Supply Service due to the very poor ordering situation in the sector. And Maersk Oil due to the very low oil prices, but Ill come back to that later.”
In addition, the net operating profit (EBIT) decreased 73% during the same period and the gross operating profit (EBITDA) was around $1,597 million, a drop of 37%.
Nevertheless, Maersk’s CEO noted that the Danish giant remains as maritime industry’s leader after acquisitions involving AMP Terminals and Maersk Oil. He assured that is not unusual to see some flow back after running a cash drive during Q4.
At the end of the quarter, the global container’s demand increased by 1% and Maersk Line had a fleet of 287 vessels and 318 chartered ships.
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