World’s largest shipping company to split off energy unit amid falling profits

jeudi 22 septembre 2016

Danish shipping and oil conglomerate A.P. Møller-Mærsk announced on Thursday that the company would split into a transport business and a separate energy division.

"The industries in which we are operating are very different, and both face very different underlying fundamentals and competitive environments. Separating our transport and logistics businesses and our oil and oil-related businesses into two independent divisions will enable both to focus on their respective markets," Mærsk Chairman Michael Pram Rasmussen said in a statement.


Møller-Mærsk is the world's biggest shipping company, holding around 15 percent of the total global capacity of liner fleets in TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) terms, according to data provider Alphaliner.

Mærsk said its main focus in the future would be its transportation and logistics services. It said its energy businesses would be separated from the main company either individually or in combination by joint ventures, mergers or listing.

The shipping business has struggled with record low freight prices as global shipping freight capacity has expanded, while Mærsk's oil division has been hit by the slump in crude prices since July 2014. In August, the company reported second-quarter net profit that was far below expectations and around 90 percent lower than the same period last year.

Mærsk A- and B-shares traded over 1 percent higher on Thursday in Copenhagen. They have rallied since June, when the strategic review was announced.

Søren Skou will continue as Group CEO of Mærsk and CEO of the transport and logistics division. Claus Hemmingsen will be appointed Group Vice-CEO of Mærsk on October 1 and will be CEO of the energy business.

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World’s largest shipping company to split off energy unit amid falling profits

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