A.P. Møller – Maersk’s revenue for the second quarter of 2021 was a whopping US$14.2 billion.

The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) was reported to be US$5.1 billion and its EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) was US$4.1 billion.

Maersk said volumes in ocean freight increased by 15%, and average freight rates increased 59% in the second quarter of 2021, when compared with the previous year.

The company said the strong quarterly performance was largely driven by the continuation of the “exceptional market situation”, with strong demand causing bottlenecks and equipment shortages.

And the company does not see the situation ending anytime soon. It said earnings in the third quarter are expected to exceed earnings from the second quarter. But the quarters ahead will see higher than normal volatility.

Because Maersk expects the current situation to continue at least until the end of 2021, the company revised its expected underlying EBITDA range to US$18 billion to 19.5 billion (previously US$13 billion to 15 billion), and its EBIT to US$13 billion to 15.5 billion (up from US$9 billion to 11 billion).