Economic Situation in the 1st quarter 2006 – Significant growth in turnover due to expansion of the shipping division. Earnings by divisions improved overall.
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General economic situation
In the first quarter of 2006, worldwide economic growth remained robust. Experts expect economic expansion to continue over the next few quarters of the current financial year, although it may gradually lose steam in the course of the year.
Development in the regions
Economic growth in the US, the key driving force of the world economy so far, started to slow down slightly since demand was gradually curbed by the restrictive monetary policy. Among the emerging markets, China continued to be set for growth and has not yet shown the expected slight slowdown in production growth. Boosted by China’s economic expansion, growth in the other emerging Asian markets also continued, at high rates in most cases. Economic perspectives in the industrialised regions of Japan and the Eurozone brightened up. In Germany, as in the UK, the recovery gained momentum due to a slight improvement in consumer sentiment.
Development of the divisions
In tourism, the previous year’s trend stabilised in the 2005/2006 winter season, which terminated at the end of April. Bookings for the 2006 summer season have started off at an overall satisfactory level, with growth varying regionally.
Shipping continued to benefit from the sustained economic growth in Asia and the US. Transport volumes rose year-on-year, and average freight rates remained high, although some declines were recorded for Asian transports in particular.