Hamburg Süd Deal to Help Compensate for Maersk Energy Spin-off

Photo credit: Maersk Line

By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen

COPENHAGEN, Dec 13 (Reuters) – The acquisition of German shipping company Hamburg Süd will replace some 60 percent of revenue lost when A.P. Moller-Maersk spins off its energy division, the head of the Danish company said on Tuesday.

Maersk announced a major restructuring in September in which the family-owned group plans to focus on transport and logistics and separate its energy operations.

The energy division, which includes exploration and production, tankers and drilling, made up a quarter of Maersk’s revenue last year, around $9.8 billion.

In comparison, Hamburg Süd had revenue of around $6 billion, Maersk said in a presentation at its capital markets day on Tuesday.

“We intend to replace that lost turnover quickly through organic and inorganic growth,” Chief Executive Soren Skou said at the presentation, noting that Hamburg Süd’s revenue last year totalled some 15 percent of Maersk’s total revenue.

Two weeks ago, the company announced its first full takeover in more than a decade when it said it would buy German shipping rival Hamburg Süd for an undisclosed sum.

The deal is one of a series in a container shipping industry hit buy low freight rates and oversupply.

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Keith Weir)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016.

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