Shipping group AP Moller-Maersk on Thursday raised the lower end of its full-year core profit forecast, helped by increasing container volumes driven largely by shipments from China, despite lower freight rates.
Maersk, widely regarded as a bellwether for global trade, now anticipates global container volumes to grow by four per cent this year, up from its prior forecast range of two per cent to four per cent issued in August.
"In the third quarter of 2025, global container demand grew between three per cent and five per cent year-on-year, defiant of disruptions," the company said in a statement. "Exports out of Far East Asia, and especially China, continue to be the main driver of solid volume growth."
Imports were bolstered by Europe, Africa, Latin America, and West Central Asia, while container volumes heading to North America contracted, particularly in shipments from China to the United States, the company said.
The company said it now expects underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, this year between $9 billion and $9.5 billion, up from its previous guidance of $8 billion to $9.5 billion.
Maersk said EBITDA fell 44 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter to $2.69 billion, above the $2.58 billion expected by analysts in a poll gathered by the company.
Revenue fell 10 per cent year-on-year to $14.2 billion in the three months, compared with $13.8 billion forecast by analysts.
The company also reiterated that disruptions in the Red Sea are expected to persist throughout the year. Maersk has previously stated it would only resume transit through the region when a long-term and viable security solution is established.
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, editing by Stine Jacobsen and Tomasz Janowski)
