Container lines see important decline in revenues and earnings in 2023 first quarter

Sea-Intelligence said there were indications of a weakness in the market in the second half of 2022, which has manifested fully in the first quarter of 2023.

Revenues declined quite sharply, in the range of 35%-70% year on year, while in terms of earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), there was a stark difference for the first quarter of 2023 versus the previous two years.

Overall, the first quarter of 2023 EBIT was US$7 billion versus a staggering US$43.93 billion in the first quarter of 2022, and even lower than the US$16.28 billion EBIT of 2021-Q1. "That said, it is still markedly higher than the US$621 million EBIT of the first quarter of 2019," pointed out a Sea-Intelligence official.

In fact, the combined EBIT drop year on year was a significant -81% (across the same set of carriers).

This can also be seen in the EBIT/TEU figures, where none of the shipping lines were able to sustain their first quarter of 2022 EBIT/TEU figures into 2023. On average, the shipping lines recorded EBIT/TEU of US$330/TEU in 2023-Q1, down 81% from 2022-Q1’s average of US$1,829/TEU, but still vastly above the just US$53/TEU average of 2010-2021.

"The only silver lining, if you can even call it that, is that while Y/Y comparisons with 2022-Q1 will show a horrifying picture due to the unnaturally high numbers in that year, the reality is that the profitability of the shipping lines has increased considerably compared to the pre-pandemic levels, and looking at the current market indicators, it does not seem that the shipping lines are going to drop back down to those low levels in the short term," commented Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence.

Source: Container News


Related News

Container ships spend fewer days in port: SSE
Container ships spend fewer days in port: SSE

The average number of days for which container vessels were in port at the world’s 20 busiest box ports decreased from April to May by 4.7% to 1.79 days, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE).

First sailing of direct China-Scotland service completed
First sailing of direct China-Scotland service completed

The first direct container service linking China to Scotland has docked at Greenock Ocean Terminal following its maiden voyage.

Maersk to open new logistics facility in Jeddah Islamic Port
Maersk to open new logistics facility in Jeddah Islamic Port

AP Moller - Maersk has signed an agreement with Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) to invest US$136 million over a period of 25 years for the establishment of an Integrated Logistics Park at the Jeddah Islamic Port in Saudi Arabia.


main.add_cart_success