Money (no longer) talks
The Copenhagen-based maritime consultancy Sea-Intelligence has taken a closer look at the financial results of major shipping lines in recent times. The first rank of carriers can look back on USD 124 billion in operating profits in 2021. In the first three quarters of 2022 the result was almost on a par with the previous year, amounting to USD 122 billion.
Sea-Intelligence CEO Alan Murphy pointed out that “of this, the Q3/2022 figure has come to USD 35.6 billion so far (minus CMA CGM, which has published its ebitda but not its ebit / operating profit).”
The figures for Q3/2021 and Q3/2022 stand out, in comparison to previous years, with some of the carriers seeing a substantial increase in the latter quarter. Even Zim, the only carrier with a decrease over this period, witnessed one of the strongest Q3/2022 ebit/teu figures.
However, while most of the larger carriers recorded double-digit revenue growth year-on-year, the smaller carriers suffered, due to falling freight rates, declining ebit and decreasing volumes. "We’re at the end of the line of the carriers’ profitability boom,” Murphy underlined. (sh)