Rocked by low freight and oil prices, Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk will split into separate transport and energy divisions under a keenly anticipated revamp announced yesterday.
The 112-year-old conglomerate will focus on its core transport and logistics businesses, comprising Maersk Line, APM Terminals, Damco, Svitzer and Maersk Container Industry.
It said it would look for solutions for its oil and oil-related businesses within 24 months. They are to be separated from the main company either individually or in combination “in the form of joint-ventures, mergers or listing.”
Maersk Line chief executive Soren Skou, promoted to CEO of the entire company in June, will lead the restructuring and the company has appointed a new group chief financial officer, Jakob Stausholm, effective from Dec. 1.
Stausholm is currently in charge of strategy at Maersk Line
“Separating our transport and logistics businesses and our oil and oil-related businesses into two independent divisions will enable both to focus on their respective markets,” A.P. Moller-Maersk chairman Michael Pram Rasmussen said in a statement. “Both face very different underlying fundamentals and competitive environments.”
Maersk Line, the world’s biggest container shipping business, is suffering from record low freight rates as growth in global trade has failed to keep pace with a big expansion in shipping fleets.
The group’s oil business is struggling with a 60 percent drop in crude prices since mid-2014.
Last month, the group posted a second-quarter net profit of US$101 million, lagging the US$196 million expected by analysts.
The prospect of a structural reorganization sent the shares up as much as 12 percent on the day, as most investors expect the company to be worth more once its different parts are freed from the conglomerate structure.
The group was founded in 1904 by A.P. Moller and was turned into a conglomerate operating in 130 countries by his son, Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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