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AP Moller-Maersk will continue to avoid major orders for new builds for container ships this year, at a time when there is considerable uncertainty in the world and where it is struggling to maintain its level of control. investment.
Despite the reduction in capital expenditure for this year, the Danish shipowner has mobilized additional funds to invest in scrubbers for certain vessels in its large fleet.
Maersk Drilling takes the turn because AP Moller announces a divestment in the energy sector of 12 billion dollars
Shares of the Copenhagen-listed company fell this morning as its forecast for 2019 fell short of market expectations.
Maersk said that Ebitda for this year would rise to around 5 billion US dollars, including the effects of IFRS 16, and about 4 billion US dollars if these effects are excluded.
Soren Skou, chief executive of AP Moller, told investors: "Our advice is very focused on a number of uncertainties that we are seeing. We clearly see declining world economic growth.
"We are seeing weaknesses, particularly in China and Europe. We are waiting for a request for containers [growth] fall to 1% to 3% this year from 3.7% to 3.8% last year.
"In addition to that, we have some uncertainty about the evolution of gas prices, and they have increased a lot over the last month," he said.
"Finally, we will be an industry that will implement the IMO 2020 towards the end of the year, which will mean, all things being equal, a significant increase in the price of fuel."
Washing expenses have increased
Maersk was a long-time skeptic. However, his annual report revealed that his investment in technology has risen from $ 80 million to $ 263 million, said Nicolay Dyvik of DNB Markets.
According to Maersk, the cost of container lines moving to compliant fuels under the new rules will result in a $ 15 billion increase in the container sector bill and a $ 2 billion charge to Maersk Line.
The commercial war is not over
Skou added that the commercial program remains under severe stress.
"The negotiations between the United States and China are ongoing and we have no idea of the likelihood of an agreement being reached, even if the press is positive at the moment," he said. he declares.
"We do not think that a China / US agreement will be the last we have heard of trade tensions in 2019.
"There is also clearly, an outstanding discussion between Europe and the United States."
Carolina Dybeck Happe, CFO of the company, also mentioned Brexit, "with difficulty or not," in her own list of global concerns.
Maersk pledges to defend the investment category How the EU has taken control of the 2020 debate at the IMO
Maersk, which has maintained its investment category as a key criterion for its strategic transformation, has lowered its capital expenditure forecast to $ 2.2 billion for this year.
"The decline in investment is due to our concentration on the discipline," she said.
"I want to reiterate that we will not order any new big ships until 2020 at the earliest."
AP Moller-Maersk posted a profit of $ 3.2 billion in 2018, its first year in the dark since 2015 and its best result since 2014 – with a profit of $ 5.2 billion.
It is then that the former conglomerate is transformed to become a specialist in transport and logistics.
The scheduled Maersk Drilling list in April this year will mean the divestment of three of its four energy divisions.
"We have improved our revenues, not as much as we would have liked and certainly not as much as we thought, starting in 2017," said Skou.
"It is important that we progress from the current level and what we intend to do."
He added: "We are very cautious in our outlook for 2019. We believe that many uncertainties can affect us during the year."
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