Maersk Line has announced profits of US$439m, up from US$227m the year before, for the second quarter of 2013.
The reefer shipping giant said Asia to Europe was still its most important route, and forecasted global demand for seaborne containers to rise 2-3 per cent in 2013 despite 'challenging' demand.
'Maersk Line has made strong and consistent progress and is now an industry leader in terms of profitability,' said Nils Andersen, group chief executive.
Despite Maersk Line's strong profits for the second quarter, overall group profits fell 11 per cent to $856m. However, Andersen remained positive that the AP Møller-Mærsk group was heading in the right direction.
He added: 'Yes, the outlook for container transportation remains challenging as demand is expected to be weak in 2013, with new deliveries expected to amount to 9.5 per cent of the fleet.
'But we have delivered a good operational result for the quarter thanks to improved performance in most of our businesses.'
Maersk claimed net profit this year would be “significantly” more than the US$461m it made in 2012, rather than simply “above” as it had stated previously.
Shares inAP Møller-Mærsk initially rose 7 per cent following reports of the results.
