Maersk more upbeat on earnings as trade volumes improve

The company expects a 15-18% drop in second quarter volumes, compared to a previous forecast of a 20-25% fall

FILE PHOTO: The ship Anna Maersk is docked at Roberts Bank port carrying 69 containers of mostly paper and plastic waste returned by the Philippines in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada June 29, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Redmond/File Photo
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A.P. Moller-Maersk, the world's biggest container shipping firm, said on Wednesday that market demand was "more favourable than originally expected" in the second quarter, sending its shares up 7 per cent.

The coronavirus crisis hit the container shipping trade hard as supply chains were upended and businesses and factory activity in China and later across the world was disrupted.

However Maersk, which handles one in every five containers shipped by sea worldwide, now expects volumes to fall 15-18 per cent in the second quarter compared to a previous forecast for a 20-25 per cent drop.

It expects second-quarter earnings before interest tax, depreciation and amortisation and before restructuring and integration "slightly above" the $1.5 billion (Dh5.5bn) achieved in the first quarter.

Maersk will publish full second-quarter results on August 19.