Danish container shipping and oil group A P Moller-Maersk posted a profit of US$4.42 billion for the first nine months of the year, citing improved freight rates and higher crude prices.

The better-than-expected result was up from a loss of $712.49 million in the same period in 2009, reported Associated Press Newswires.

Revenues jumped 22 percent to $43.34 billion billion from $35.65 billion for the first nine months. The company does not release quarterly figures.

CEO Nils Smedegaard Andersen called the result exceptional. "Especially our container business has improved and is ahead of competition on profitability," he said. "We are ready to seize opportunities, especially in emerging markets."

The group raised its full-year profit outlook to be "in the order of $5 billion" against a previous guidance of $4 billion.

Spar Nord analyst Mikkel Duus-Hansen said market watchers had expected Maersk to lift its forecast, "but it is bigger than expected." "It was a real noticeable upgrade," he said.

Maersk said the full-year forecast didn't include an expected gain from its May sale of a British supermarket chain to Wal-Mart subsidiary Asda Stores. Netto Foodstores was sold for $1.3 billion. The transaction will be completed in the first half of next year.

Despite this, it said it expects a year-end "decline in both volumes and freight rates" for its container business and "a somewhat lower result in the fourth quarter compared to previous quarters."
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)