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COPENHAGEN, Denmark – The actions of AP Moller-Maersk, the largest shipping company in the world and the largest in the Charleston port, plunged Thursday after announcing trade damage that could result in escalating trade war with China.
The company reported a loss of $ 34 million in the fourth quarter, compared to a profit of $ 32 million a year earlier. Revenues went from $ 8.4 billion to $ 10.2 billion. For the full year of 2018, revenues increased 26% to $ 8.1 billion.
Maersk said it was helped last year by higher freight rates, greater efficiency of its operations and synergies arising from the acquisition in 2017 of the German container shipping company Hamburg South.
However, he stated that his forecast for 2019 was "subject to considerable uncertainty because of the current risk of further restrictions on world trade and other factors affecting containerized freight rates, bunkering prices. and exchange rates ".
The owner of Copenhagen-based maritime giant Maersk Line said trade tensions between the United States and China could weigh on business.
The US government has warned that it would increase import taxes of $ 200 billion on Chinese products from 10% to 25% on March 2, if the two parties have not reached a resolution . A new round of two-day talks began Thursday in Washington.
Maersk said trade tensions have created uncertainty and could "reduce global container trade growth by 0.3 to 1.0 percentage point per year in 2019-2020 if US tariffs rise to 25 percent in March 2019. "
CEO Soeren Skou said that, even if the group's revenues had increased, "profitability needs to be improved".
Shares fell by almost 10% in Copenhagen.
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