Maersk and HMM container ships on the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs
The U.S.-Iran warfare had created a “new wake-up name” for international commerce, Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc informed CNBC on Thursday, warning that the affect may worsen within the coming months.
Talking to CNBC’s “Squawk Field Europe” after Maersk posted its first-quarter earnings, Clerc stated the group is going through intense price pressures that must be handed on to prospects.
Shares of Maersk have been final seen buying and selling round 7.2% decrease, paring earlier losses. Clerc was chatting with CNBC after Maersk reported a pointy decline in profitability and made no adjustments to its steerage, however warned of the affect of the continued battle within the Center East.
Maersk shares
“We’re extremely vitality intensive business, and that has created a complete new set of circumstances that we now need to cope with,” he stated. “That may have an essential affect on the second and third quarter.”
Oil prices surged because the warfare within the Center East intensified, with ongoing uncertainty across the closure of the Strait of Hormuz protecting costs elevated. The spike in oil costs has additionally fueled issues that inflation can be pushed greater in lots of economies.
On Thursday, international benchmark Brent crude futures have been down by 2.2% to $93.01 a barrel, amid hopes that Washington and Tehran have been near agreeing on a peace deal.
“What this this vitality shock goes to imply is about $500 million of additional prices per 30 days for so long as the oil stays round within the within the $100 per barrel neighborhood, that’s important,” Clerc informed CNBC. “And there’s a lot we will do on decreasing prices, however there’s a lot we have to do on passing on these prices to prospects, as a result of it is such a large price improve that we won’t shoulder it.”
He added that the battle was elevating questions on how lengthy the delivery business — and consumption — may stay resilient.
“As a few of these prices make their means all the best way as much as the tip shopper, will we see demand destruction on the shopper stage? And can that then reverberate all through the availability chain with softer demand within the second a part of the yr?” he questioned.
“That’s actually one thing that we’re searching for very, very intently, as a result of it might instantly change the equation on how this disaster goes to affect the worldwide provide chain and our business specifically.”
The Danish firm, broadly seen as a bellwether for international commerce, reported underlying earnings earlier than curiosity, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $1.75 billion for the primary three months of the yr.
It marked a 35% decline from the identical interval a yr earlier, however fell in step with a consensus estimate compiled by LSEG.
Income fell 2.6% year-on-year to $13 billion, beating expectations of $12.5 billion. The downturn was pushed by strain on its Ocean division, Maersk stated, because of decrease freight charges and better prices from elevated volumes.
Round every week into the Iran warfare, Maersk suspended two key delivery routes linking the Center East to Asia and Europe. It stated the choice had been made to guard its personnel and vessels.
The delivery large stored its full-year outlook unchanged, saying it nonetheless anticipated underlying EBITDA development within the vary of 4.5% to 7% in 2026. It stated its outlook displays business overcapacity from new vessel deliveries, in addition to totally different eventualities on the timing of the reopening of the Purple Sea and Strait of Hormuz this yr.
Nevertheless, Maersk reiterated the affect of the Iran warfare on its operations and the worldwide economic system, and referred to as for efforts to strengthen provide chains.
“Geopolitics is the dominant power shaping the macroeconomic outlook, in addition to the commerce and logistics atmosphere,” the corporate stated in its earnings presentation, including that the Iran warfare had launched an “further layer of uncertainty.”
Because the battle started on Feb. 28, the Strait of Hormuz — a waterway that is essential to industrial delivery — has successfully been closed.
“At the moment, fragile ceasefires are in place in each Iran and Lebanon, negotiations proceed slowly, and visitors on the Strait of Hormuz stays at a near-standstill. The battle has already weighed on sentiment. Shopper confidence deteriorated,” Maersk stated on Thursday.
The corporate stated that if oil costs stay within the $90- to $100-per-barrel vary by way of 2026 and the battle is resolved quickly, international container demand remains to be anticipated to develop between 2% and 4%.
However, it added, the stability of dangers “is on the draw back and extra opposed outcomes can’t be dominated out.”
“Power and delivery disruptions within the Strait of Hormuz are quickly reshaping international provide chains,” the delivery large added in its report. “After the latest tariffs on U.S. imports, the battle represents one other wake-up name to deploy new instruments to make provide chains extra resilient and develop new methods to mitigate future disruptions.”
