Strong Volumes and Market Growth
Container volumes grew strongly across segments with Ocean delivering above-market growth (~9% cited), Logistics & Services revenue up 8.7% (to $3.8B) and Terminals volume growth of 4.3% (North America +11%). Management reported volumes generally back to pre-conflict levels.
Revenue and Profitability Gains Outside Ocean
Terminals revenue increased 6.7% year-on-year to $1.3B with EBITDA $488M (37.1% margin) and EBIT $436M (33.2% margin). Logistics & Services marked its eighth consecutive quarter of year-on-year EBIT margin improvement, with EBIT of $173M and margin up 0.5 ppt to 4.6%.
Operational Efficiency and Unit Cost Reduction
Ocean unit cost at fixed energy declined ~7% year-on-year (Robert: 7.1% YoY), and since Gemini's inception Maersk reported a sustained ~7% YoY decrease in unit cost at fixed energy. Vessel utilization was high at ~96%, and bunker consumption was down ~5.3% YoY due to network efficiencies.
Solid Group-Level Results and Balance Sheet Strength
Group revenue for Q1 was $13.0B (down 2.6% YoY), EBITDA was $1.8B and EBIT $340M. Maersk ended the quarter with $18.4B cash & deposits and a net cash position of $1.3B after dividends and buybacks, maintaining financial flexibility.
Resilience and Crisis Response
Maersk highlighted operational resilience amid the Middle East conflict: ~6,000 colleagues in affected countries are safe, 6 vessels are temporarily stuck, network modularity (Gemini) allowed isolation of impacted areas and helped limit major volume/service disruptions.
Commercial Actions to Recover Energy Costs
Management reported successful deployment of commercial levers (surcharges and bunker formulas) that are recovering elevated energy costs—management estimates ~$500M extra cost per month being recovered through spot increases and contract measures.
Strategic Investments and Capacity Expansion
Key investments announced/completed: World Gateway 2 automated warehouse in Singapore (~100,000 m2), EUR 1B Bremerhaven upgrade plan, 13.7% stake in Jeddah terminal, Phase 2 completion at Lázaro Cárdenas and other greenfield/expansion investments to secure long-term growth.
Guidance Maintained with Clear Ranges
Despite volatility, full-year guidance was maintained: global container volume growth 2%-4%, underlying EBITDA $4.5B-$7B, underlying EBIT between -$1.5B and +$1.0B, and free cash flow of negative $3B or better. Cumulative CapEx guidance remains $10B-$11B for 2025-26.