Danish oil and shipping group AP Møller-Mærsk has posted a 25 per cent increased in its net profits to US$1.5bn compared to the same period last year.
The strong performance has been put down to its shipping container business Maersk Line, as well as its Maersk Oil and APM Terminal units. Maersk Line posted a profit of US$685m in the third quarter, the boost due to lower costs and an increase in average freight rates. The company has said it now expects Maersk Line’s 2014 results to exceed US$2bn, up from the 2013 results of US$1.5bn.
“We are very satisfied with the result for the third quarter of 2014,” Nils Anderson, Maersk Group CEO, said in a company statement. “We are well positioned to take advantage of opportunities materialising in a volatile macroeconomic environment, and despite some caution in relation to the market outlook for the coming quarters, we maintain our outlook for the Group result to be around US$4.5bn for the year.”
