{"id":77234,"date":"2026-05-07T17:24:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T17:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/77234\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T17:24:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T17:24:19","slug":"maersk-says-energy-crunch-to-persist-even-if-iran-peace-deal-struck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/77234\/","title":{"rendered":"Maersk Says Energy Crunch to Persist Even If Iran Peace Deal Struck"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Stine Jacobsen and Jesus Calero<\/p>\n

COPENHAGEN, May 7 (Reuters)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Shipping\u00a0group Maersk\u00a0MAERSKb.CO\u00a0beat first-quarter profit forecasts on Thursday but warned the Iran war had pushed its fuel costs up by nearly $500 million a month and that the energy crisis would persist even if a peace deal was reached.<\/p>\n

Shares in Maersk were down 6.5% at 1100 GMT after its results, underperforming a broadly flat Copenhagen benchmark index amid worries that high fuel prices could hit profits.<\/p>\n

Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said the war had added roughly 3 billion Danish crowns ($472.7 million) to the company\u2019s monthly costs as bunker fuel prices surged from around $600 to just under $1,000 per metric ton.<\/p>\n

Clerc said Maersk had so far managed to recover those costs in full through contract renegotiations and spot rate increases, but cautioned that the energy crisis showed no sign of fading.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe energy crisis does not go away the day peace comes,\u201d Clerc told a press conference. \u201cOil companies I speak to \u2026 expect it to last at minimum several more months, possibly many more months,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Clerc said passing on the higher costs to customers had been difficult but that Maersk had managed it until now. \u201cThey can understand, even if they don\u2019t like it, why we have to do it,\u201d he said. \u201c(It) is not something we can just absorb.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maersk, which is viewed as a bellwether for global trade, still projects global container volume growth of between 2% and 4% this year but said the situation remained volatile.<\/p>\n

PROFIT DOWN BUT BEATS FORECAST<\/p>\n

Maersk\u2019s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the January to March period were $1.73 billion, compared to a median forecast of $1.66 billion in a company-provided poll of 10 analysts, but well below the $2.71 billion for the same period a year ago.<\/p>\n

The first quarter does not capture the\u00a0Iran war\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0full impact on global supply chains as it began on February 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n

The war has disrupted\u00a0shipping\u00a0routes after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic. The company has six ships trapped in the Gulf, a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Clerc said only 2% to 3% of global container trade flows to and from the Gulf, giving the container\u00a0shipping\u00a0industry enough resilience to handle the closure of the Strait.<\/p>\n

The bigger risk, he said, was if sustained high energy prices triggered broad inflation leading to recession and a drop in demand. He described a scenario of high costs, weak demand and overcapacity as \u201ca dangerous cocktail.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Middle East situation also impacts\u00a0shipping\u00a0in the Red Sea, forcing Maersk to continue to\u00a0reroute vessels<\/a>\u00a0around Africa, away from the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.<\/p>\n

This marked an abrupt stop to Maersk\u2019s tentative efforts for a\u00a0gradual return of some services<\/a>\u00a0to the Suez route, seen as a key step towards ending years of global trade disruption caused by attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels.<\/p>\n

Maersk is currently assessing whether conditions in the Red Sea will soon be safe enough to resume some sailings through Suez, which would significantly reduce fuel costs and transit times on the critical Asia-Europe corridor, Clerc said.<\/p>\n

($1 = 6.3466 Danish crowns)<\/p>\n

Red Sea rerouting weighs on retailers\u00a0https:\/\/reut.rs\/47OfugB<\/a><\/p>\n

(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Jesus Calero, editing by Terje Solsvik and Alexander Smith)<\/p>\n

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026.<\/p>\n

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This article contains reporting from Reuters, published under license.<\/p>\n

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