Maersk boosts profit outlook as container demand defies trade fears

Shipping group Maersk raised its full-year profit forecast on Thursday as robust global container demand defied fears that tariffs would hit trade, although the company predicted a slowdown later this year.Maersk, viewed as a barometer of world trade, said it now expected global container volumes to increase by 2% to 4% this year, compared with a range of down 1% to up 4% estimated in May. The new range implies lower second-half growth, it said.A drop in US imports after President Donald Trump unleashed a barrage of tariffs on foreign goods "was more than offset" by strong growth in imports into other regions, including Europe, the Danish firm said in its second-quarter earnings statement.CEO Vincent Clerc told reporters that most customers — which include Walmart and Nike — are taking a wait-and-see approach to potential changes in their supply chains, and that container shipping was immune to trade tariffs in the short term.Chinese shipments into Europe and other regions started increasing last year and continued into 2025, Clerc said, adding that Maersk's own data did not suggest this growth was fuelled by US tariffs."The normal relationship between how things are going in the US and how things are going in the rest of the world is changing as China plays a larger and larger role in the global economy," Clerc told reporters in Copenhagen."This has meant that despite volatility in the US, we have seen very stable high demand for container shipping in the rest of the world," he said.Trade between China and the US plummeted earlier this year amid escalating tit-for-tat tariffs.While a truce was agreed, investors remain on edge over whether the world's two largest economies can clinch a deal before an August 12 deadline.Maersk said it now expected underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation this year of between $8bn and $9.5bn, compared with its previous guidance of between $6bn and $9 n.It said EBITDA rose 7% year-on-year in the second quarter to $2.3bn, above the $1.98bn expected by analysts.Sales rose 3% year-on-year to $13.1bn, also beating the $12.61bn forecast by analysts in a company poll.SMICChina's top chipmaker SMIC reported a decline in second-quarter profits on Thursday as tensions between Beijing and Washington over critical technologies threaten a fragile trade truce.China has sought to increase its self-reliance in the field of semiconductors, which are used in everything from televisions and cars to weapons and supercomputers.The US has moved to deny Chinese firms access to its advanced technology and tightened curbs on exports of state-of-the-art chips and the equipment to make them.Those restrictions have targeted Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), which is listed in Hong Kong and in its home city Shanghai.SMIC reported in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that second-quarter profit attributable to owners stood at $132mn, down 19.5% compared to the equivalent period last year.The drop comes after SMIC saw profit jump 161.9% year-on-year in the first three months of 2025.SMIC said second-quarter revenue rose 16.2% year-on-year to $2.2bn, but was down 1.7% on the previous quarter.US President Donald Trump announced hours earlier a 100% tariff on semiconductors from firms that do not invest in the US.More than 84% of SMIC's revenue during the first quarter came from customers in China, the results said.The company also said it expects revenue to increase by five to 7% in the next quarter compared to the April-June period.SMIC acknowledged this year that its 2024 profit had plunged significantly from 2023 on the back of souring trade relations between Beijing and Washington.DeliverooFood delivery app Deliveroo on Thursday reported that it fell back into a loss in the first half of 2025, citing costs related to its takeover by US rival DoorDash.Net loss stood at £19.2mn ($26mn) in the six months to the end of June, compared with a net profit of £1.3mn during the same period one year earlier, according to an earnings statement.The London-listed firm, which agreed a £2.9bn takeover by DoorDash in May, said it is on track to finalise the deal in the final quarter of the year.Deliveroo had reported its first annual profit in March following sizeable full-year losses owing to high investment costs since American Will Shu founded the company in 2013.Despite slipping back into the red in the first half of 2025, Shu noted that "both growth and profitability are accelerating".The company attributed the latest loss predominantly to "advisory and legal fees in relation to the DoorDash acquisition," without which it expected to have made a net profit.Revenue grew 8% to £1bn, while orders also grew eight %."I'm excited for what the partnership with DoorDash can bring in the future," Shu added.The combined group is set to create a delivery service present in more than 40 countries, serving around 50mn monthly-active users.SonyPlayStation-maker Sony raised its annual profit forecasts on Thursday, citing strong performance in its key gaming business and a smaller-than-expected negative impact of US trade tariffs.The Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate said "user engagement continued its strong momentum" in the video game sector.Its shares surged more than 6% in Tokyo after the announcement.Monthly active users in June and total gameplay hours on PlayStation consoles in the April-June quarter both increased six % year-on-year, it said.It added that "the situation surrounding the additional US tariffs is still fluid, and we intend to continue to monitor it and take action to minimise its impact"."The impact of the additional US tariffs on operating income is estimated to be approximately ¥70bn ($470mn), a decrease of ¥30bn from the previous forecast." The company hiked its net profit forecast for the current 2025-26 financial year to ¥970bn ($6.6bn), up from the previous estimate of ¥930bn.But even the higher forecast would not top the record net profit of ¥1.1tn that Sony logged in the previous financial year.Atul Goyal, an equity analyst at Jefferies, said ahead of the earnings release that the massively anticipated global release of the game "Grand Theft Auto VI" in May 2026 "could lead to peak game profits" for Sony.The PlayStation 5, which launched in 2020, is entering a "late" stage of the usual lifecycle for a console, Goyal said."Sony's outlook hinges on navigating tariff headwinds near-term, leveraging GTA6's blockbuster potential... and cyclical console risks," he said.SiemensSiemens warned on Thursday that US tariffs were prompting its customers in key sectors to slow investment decisions, even as the German industrial giant reported forecast-beating quarterly profits.The group booked net profits of €2.2bn ($2.6bn) from April to June, up 5% from a year earlier, as strong orders at its division that makes trains offset problems at its factory automation unit.Sales grew by 5% to €19.4bn, and Siemens's shares jumped over 4% in Frankfurt after the results were released.But chief financial officer Ralf Thomas cautioned that Siemens's sprawling global business was not immune from heightened global volatility unleashed by US President Donald Trump's tariff blitz."Ongoing tariff uncertainties and trade tensions have dampened further recovery because of a rather cautious investment sentiment in important customer industries," he said.He pointed to industries such as the automotive and production of industrial machinery ones.CEO Roland Busch added that, in several key industries, "sales cycles have been extended and investment decisions are taking longer".Busch said the US levies were impacting the group's unit that deals with factory automation, which had already been facing problems."Orders in the digital industry business recovered less strongly than anticipated due to the continuing high level of uncertainty regarding the future tariff environment and ongoing trade disputes," he said.