Transcript fra A.P. Møller-Mærsk generalforsamling i dag

As Chair of A.P. Møller – Maersk, I extend a warm welcome to all shareholders at our Annual General Meeting. Similar to last year, this meeting will be conducted online, allowing our shareholders to participate and interact with the company through our shareholder portal. This format ensures that all our shareholders across many countries have the same opportunity and same access to take part of and stay updated via the live webcast. CEO, Vincent Clerc has joined me in this studio. Together, we will address any questions you might have.

As Chair of the Annual General Meeting, the Board of Directors has chosen Niels Kornerup, partner of the law firm, Bech-Bruun. I give the word to you, Niels.

Thank you, Chair, and thank you for the Board of Directors for appointing me as the meeting Chair of this Annual General Meeting in A.P. Møller – Maersk. I look forward to chairing this today’s completely electronic Annual General Meeting and to ensure that our meeting is conducted in a proper and appropriate manner.

Please note that the general meeting may be delayed by up to some seconds depending on your Internet connection. Consequently, I will occasionally slow down the speed to synchronize what takes place here at the studio and watch — what will be broadcasted and brought to your screens.

As it is properly already noticed, this year’s Annual General Meeting is held in English. However, I kindly note that the interpretation into Danish is available at the AGM portal. Initially, we must determine whether the general meeting is duly convened and legally capable of transacting the business comprised by the agenda of today.

Prior to the Annual General Meeting, I made sure that the company has published the notice convening the general meeting in due time and that the note is properly satisfies the requirement in the company’s Articles of Association and in the Danish Companies Act.

On that basis, I conclude that the Annual General Meeting is duly convened and legally capable of transacting the business comprised by the agenda of today. I hope for the shareholder support as to that, and that I record. Thank you and that will be put into the meeting minutes.

Immediately before we commence this general meeting, it was registered at more than 85% of the A shares and thereby the voting represented at this general meeting. The figures is determined after deduction of treasury shares and without taking B shares into account as these, as is well known, do not carry any votes.

The final figures will be shown in the minutes of the general meeting. In respect of postal votes and proxies, the Board of Directors have received postal votes and proxies equivalent to more than 90% of the votes, also after reduction of treasury shares. Based on the set postal votes and the proxies, I can inform that the Board of Directors’ proposals and the recommendations enjoys great support.

In line with previous years, practice, I mentioned that according to Section 101 subsection 5 of the Danish Companies Act, a full account of the voting for every resolution adopted at the general meeting must be provided even though the result is clear — are clear.

In previous years, we have deviated from providing a full account of this voting for every resolution adopted. However, this year, we suggest deviating from providing a fuller account. But together with the service provider Computershare, we will provide an overview of all votes registered in order to avoid voting on every item on the agenda today. I allow to assume that the general meeting in line with past practice agrees that we do like that, and we use the proposed procedure.

Thank you. It is possible to follow the general meeting on the company’s website as well as at the AGM portal. As set out in the notice, the webcast on the company’s website will only be available up to and including the Chair’s report. To attend the entire general meeting and to participate in the debate, shareholders who have registered their attendance must lock into and follow the general meeting at the AGM portal.

We now turn to how the debate is carried out. As just mentioned, the AGM portal is the forum for the debate and all registered shareholders have been provided with the log in there too. As shown on this slide, you must click on the Q&A icon in the top right corner of the AGM portal. Once clicked, a window will appear in which you can type your questions or comments. Please note that questions and comments are limited to 2,000 characters. When you have finished typing, you must present. The questions or comments will reach us here at A.P. Møller – Maersk where lawyer from my office will review it.

Once reviewed, the questions will be read outlined by the shareholders’ voice whom I will introduce later. Again, this year, our debate is in writing. I therefore encourage the questions and comments at the benefit of all are kept clear and concise to ensure a dynamic and an appropriate debate. I strongly encourage that all questions and comments are made in English as these will not be interpreted to English.

To ensure that you have ample time to phrase your questions and comments, please note that such may be submitted at any time during the General Meeting, and we will make sure that the submission are read out loud at the relevant item of the agenda. Computershare is ready to assist you if you experience any technical problems. Computershare can be reached by dialing the telephone numbers shown in the AGM portal. Technical issues must be handled by reaching out to Computershare, not by the Q&A function in the AGM portal.

And so, we are ready to get on board with the agenda of the general meeting, which has been published and is as follows: a, report on the activities of the companies — of the company during the past financial; B, submission of the audited annual report for adoption; C, resolution to grant discharge to [Audio Gap] And now I give the floor to the Chair. And please, Robert Uggla, the Chair, the floor is yours.

Thank you. After a period of slower trade growth relative to GDP, 2024 saw a notable rebound in container demand with global trade expanding by 7%, largely driven by Chinese exports. Strong import demand in key regions, particularly North America and Latin America, contributed to this growth, while Europe saw more moderate demand. However, despite the strong underlying performance in the past year, trade is increasingly exposed to 2 worrying developments. Firstly, we are seeing a deteriorating security situation in several parts of the world, after a few decades of relative peace and stability in international waters, maritime traffic has become subject to attacks, challenging long-held assumptions about safe passage for shipping and international trade.

The route levels assault on the global merchant fleet in the Bab al-Mandab Strait has forced a significant part of seaborne trade to circumvent the Suez Canal and sales South of the Cape of Good Hope, adding more than 13,000 kilometers to a round trip from Shanghai to Rotterdam. This also means that despite a 10% global fleet expansion and many new ships on water, vessel capacity remained tight in 2024, driving up freight rates.

Secondly, we’re also witnessing the rapid rise of economic nationalism and protectionism. During 2024 the U.S. and EU imposed import duties on Chinese good — on Chinese goods, particularly targeting electric vehicles to safeguard domestic industries. During 2025, we are seeing the beginning of multiple escalating trade conflicts, which may hold profound implications for the global economy for global trade and for many of our customers. Despite these challenges, Maersk managed to successfully navigate 2024 by focusing on operational performance and by working closely with customers to solve their transportation needs.

Our colleagues’ ability to rapidly adapt to shifting markets, including the Red Sea situation was reflected in a 28% improvement in customer satisfaction, with Maersk recognized as a trusted industry leader in terms of its supply chain response. During the year, we have worked hard to further progress our strategy and operational performance across our 3 main activities: Ocean, Logistics & Services, and terminals.

For Ocean, in early 2024, we announced the Gemini cooperation with Hapag-Lloyd, comprising of almost 50% of our global network capacity with objective to dramatically improve port schedule reliability while also increasing our asset utilization. The new network is enabled by A.P. Møller terminals hubs in locations such as Tanjung Pelepas and Tanger to ensure fast and efficient transshipment. Once fully phased in the number of port calls on affected routes is reduced by approximately 40%, markedly reducing the number of instances of potential vessel delays, which typically occur in ports.

Consequently, Maersk intends to deliver 90% schedule reliability in the Gemini network, which would be a dramatic improvement compared to current industry performance, enhancing the quality of our supply chain offering to customers. The Gemini Corporation was officially launched on February 1 this year. Customer feedback has been positive with operations and service levels progressing as planned. A successful phase-in of the new network, replacing old services is an important priority for this year. In 2024, we also progressed on the turnaround of our logistics activities with margin improvements and renewed growth momentum at the end of the year.

A key milestone last year was the successful integration of Asia-based LF Logistics, bringing 10,000 new colleagues and 155 new warehouses full into the Maersk network. LFT clients were successfully retained while our colleagues also managed to attract new customers as we strengthened our global contract logistics capabilities, we are mindful that our performance in logistics need to be solidified as some of the products margins are not where we like them to be.

At the same time, we believe the shifting geopolitical environment increases the importance of strong capabilities across our customers’ supply chains, which will provide us with new growth opportunities. Finally, 2024, was another solid year for APM Terminals, which continued to deliver strong financial results based on continuous productivity improvements, automation and volume growth.

Our tonal activities were further strengthened by the renewal of key concessions in Santos Brasil as well as Aqaba Jordan. At the same time, we continue to invest in future growth, launching 2 greenfield projects in Brazil and Croatia to expand our portfolio of world-class gateway terminals. Both these facilities will offer cutting-edge technology, enhancing local port services and providing broader access to global markets.

We have also expanded — we have also commenced expansion of Lázaro Cárdenas, significantly increasing capacity to meet the demand along Mexico’s Pacific Coast. Let me also give a brief perspective on 3 important areas for A.P. Møller – Maersk’s, our technology-related initiatives, our commitment to the energy transition and our safety program. Technology plays a crucial role for Maersk. We have made strong headwind in the modernization of our technology in 2024. The projected IT migration of our estate to the cloud is almost completed. The standardization and modernization of our applications also progressed well, including, for instance, the migration of most of our existing warehouse sites to the acquired LF Logistics warehousing management system. This is important not only from a cost and efficiency perspective, but it also creates a strong base for us to develop our customer offering and to leverage the potential of new technologies such as AI at scale.

The first efforts in automating workflows are showing promising signs and will be an important lever to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction further in 2025. The second area I would like to comment on is our energy transition. Maersk remains committed to reducing emissions of its operations. During 2024, we welcome new green enabled vessels to the fleet, while also progressing on our fleet renewal program with a total fleet order of 800,000 TEU. These vessels will replace end-of-life ships, offering a far more fuel-efficient vessel design with dual fuel engines catering for what is about to become a multifuel world.

We see good progress on our energy transition initiatives, such as the ordering off green methanol and the electrification of ports, warehouses, and of some of our intermodal operations. However, it is also clear that we are dependent on customers to support and pay for green transfer solutions. In this respect, the biggest challenge that we face is the cost gap between clean and traditional fuse. As also stressed last year, we need a strong regulatory framework under the International Maritime Organization, or IMO, to get the industry moving in the right direction.

The final area to comment on is our safety program. Safety is a topic of great importance to our Board and to our management. Last year, Maersk conducted over 15,000 on-site safety inspections and assessed more than 350 logistics sites. However, accidents still happen. Last year, we tragically lost a colleague in our warehouse in the Philippines. While the number of fatalities across our global operations has significantly declined in the last decade due to our ongoing safety efforts. This loss is a reminder that the development of our safety culture is a never-ending journey.

2024 was also another year with distressing attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea and in the Black Sea. The safety of our sea fares is always at the forefront of our minds.

This brings me to the financial review. Last year, our colleagues in Maersk delivered the third best results ever. The company generated revenues of USD 55.5 — USD 55.5 billion and a net profit after tax of USD 6.2 billion. Cash flow from operating activities reached USD 11.4 billion, while gross CapEx for the year totaled USD 4.2 billion. By year-end, Maersk’s liquidity reserve had increased to USD 29 billion. Based on these results, the Board has proposed a dividend to shareholders of DKK 1,120 per nominal share of DKK 1,000. The dividend payout represents 40% of the 2024 net profit, in line with our financial policy.

In February 2024, the Board made a decision to suspend the share buyback program with consideration to later restate such program, depending on market developments in Ocean. Looking ahead, a new share buyback program up to DKK 14.4 billion will be executed over 12 months. The first phase amounting to DKK 7.2 billion will run from February 7 up to August 6 of this year. This is also why the Board has asked for a mandate to acquire own shares.

The total amount paid out to shareholders in the last 5 years, if including share buybacks and dividends, equals approximately DKK 201 billion or USD 30 billion. In addition, we have also demerged Svitzer at a shareholder value of another USD 1.1 billion.

As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen the Board’s governance of A.P. Møller – Maersk, the Board of Directors conducts annual Board evaluations, the Board and its Nomination Committee has also reviewed how to enhance the Board capabilities in areas of strategic importance to the company. With this in mind, I’m very pleased to announce that the Board has proposed — has nominated Xavier Urbain as new director with a distinguished career in the logistics industry, including executive roles at Ceva and Kuehne + Nagel, Xavier brings deep and highly relevant logistics domain knowledge to Maersk.

It is proposed that Xavier replaces Arne Karlsson who steps down after being a Director of our Board since 2010. Over his 15 years on the Board, Arne has spent more than a decade as Chair of the Audit Committee. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Arne for his valuable contribution and his unwavering commitment to our company.

I know that remuneration is a matter of importance to many shareholders, the remuneration report available on our website discloses the remuneration of our Executive Board as well as our Board of Directors.

This brings me to the end of my speech. As we look back on 2024, let me express my sincere gratitude to our directors, to our executive team and our many colleagues across the group for their relentless efforts and dedication to provide value — to provide our valued customers with reliable and sustainable services. I am also grateful for our team’s ability to provide impactful support to our local communities.

In 2024, A.P. Møller – Maersk played a critical role, enabling logistics of humanitarian aid transporting significant volumes of relief cargo to several conflict areas around the world, including to the most effective war zones in Europe as well as in the Middle East.

As we look ahead, we recognize that recurring supply chain disruptions and the longer-term implications of global warming of military conflicts and of large economies evolving economic nationalism, here on the trade policies present formidable challenges for many of our customers and for communities dependent on trade. These challenges underscore the purpose and opportunity for Maersk to provide reliable and impactful supply chain offerings in a changing world. Thank you.