Shipping giant Maersk raises outlook on strong demand outside US

COPENHAGEN, Denmark: Danish shipping giant Maersk raised its 2025 earnings outlook on Thursday, owing to robust demand outside the United States amid President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught.

Maersk said it was now projecting a core profit of between $8 billion and $9.5 billion for the year, compared with the previously announced range of $6 billion to $9 billion.

“Even with market volatility and historical uncertainty in global trade, demand remained resilient, and we’ve continued to respond with speed and flexibility,” Maersk chief executive Vincent Clerc said in an earnings statement.

At the same time, the shipping giant cautioned that “the outlook for global container demand over the remainder of the year remains uncertain, shaped by a rapidly evolving tariff landscape and high policy uncertainty in the US.”

“Unless new major shocks occur, global demand growth is expected to range between two percent and four percent for the full year,” Maersk said.

Maersk reported a 26.5 percent drop in its second-quarter net profit to $586 million.

The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to $2.3 billion, up from $2.1 billion a year earlier.

Revenue rose by three percent to $13.1 billion.

“Our new East-West network is raising the bar on reliability and setting new industry standards. It has been a key driver of increased volumes and solid delivery of our Ocean business,” Clerc said.