Maersk: Current Market Comparable to 2009 Crisis, but "We Can Use the Downturn to Positive Effect"

Nils Smedegaard Andersen, CEO of Maersk Group, says that while the market may be as bad as in 2009, the company is in a better position.

Nils Smedegaard Andersen, CEO of Maersk Group (Maersk), says that the weakness of the current market is "very close" to the 2009 crisis, but asserts that the company is in a better position now and "can use the downturn to positive effect," Shipping Watch reports.

"This is a situation that worries us. The oil price is low and very close to the lowest point of 2009," said Andersen at Maersk's fourth Capital Markets Day in Copenhagen.

"We're not all the way there yet, but almost. And we're also facing the historically low rates in the container industry."

Given the market context, Maersk is said to have posted strong results during this year's first two quarters, with Andersen noting that asset sales over the past several years, including Dansk Supermarked and Danske Bank, have helped to put the company in a financially stronger position since 2009.

"We find ourselves very close to the market situation five years ago, but today the conglomerate is in a completely different position," added Andersen.

"We are a much stronger group than five years ago, and we can use the downturn to positive effect."

A New Phase

With Maersk having completed its divestment process, Andersen says the company is in a "new phase," which includes focused investment within its identified five key business areas, such as the recent acquisition of Grup Maritim TCB.

"We are in a position to acquire solid businesses, not within other areas but within our core business areas, where we can see interesting possibilities and are in a good position to spend money."

The new phase is also reported to translate to reduced targets in some parts of Maersk's business, such as Maersk Oil, which will no longer be required to deliver 400,000 barrels of oil a day, APM Terminals, which is not longer required to deliver a 2016 profit of $1 billion, and APM Shipping Services, which is no long required to deliver a $500 million profit next year.

Ambitions for the Group's biggest business unit, Maersk Line, remain more aggressive, which represents some 40 percent of the Group's turnover and efficiency gains at the carrier line are said to be a key contributor to the Group's recent overall positive results. 

Alphaliner ranks Maersk Line as the world's biggest with a market share of 15.3 percent, ahead of Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC)'s 13.4 percent, and Andersen says the company intends to defend that market share, turning to expansion if required.

The group says it expects to post a full-year profit of $4 billion for 2015.

In August, Maersk Line said it believes the company will be successful in showing the $350 million savings it had projected as a result of its new adjusted 2M alliance with the Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC).