Ane Maersk Mc-Kinney Uggla, chair of the group’s holding company, said the changes were necessary for the group to stay “agile”. 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.
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Danish shipping and oil conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Thursday it will separate its businesses into separate transport and energy divisions in a bid to better tackle the problems facing its struggling businesses.
Oil and oil related businesses, either individually or in combination, are to be separated from the group.
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. A solution is expected to be found within 24 months, it said.
Maersk Drilling boss Claus V. Hemmingsen will lead Maersk’s energy division through the change and serve as vice CEO of the group, beginning on October 1. “Drilling is relatively large, but its competitors are under extreme financial pressure, so it’s less likely to find an sale opportunity there”, Morten Imsgard, an analyst at Denmark’s Sydbank, said.
In June, Maersk fired Nils Smedegaard Andersen as chief executive officer and asked the newly appointed Soren Skou to look into breaking up the group and possibly selling or listing some of its divisions.
The company has also appointed a new group chief financial officer, Jakob Stausholm, effective December 1.
The container industry has seen freight rates tumble amid a glut of tonnage in the water, prompting price wars between operators that have pushed freight rates to levels barely covering fuel costs. Most recently South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping, the world’s No. 7 container-shipping company, filed for bankruptcy in August, stranding ships at sea.
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At 0718 GMT, the shares were trading up 3.2 percent at 10220 crowns. It said that Maersk Line will aim to grow its market share in the container market organically and through acquisitions.
