Danish shipping and oil group AP Moller-Maersk yesterday reported first-quarter net profit at the top end of expectations, helped by higher-than-expected freight rates and buoyant oil prices.


The owner of Maersk Line, the world’s biggest container shipping firm, which has its UK head office in Liverpool city centre, reiterated that 2011 earnings would be lower than 2010. It also repeated guidance for a “satisfactory” result in the container shipping business, also lower than last year.


First-quarter group net profit rose 85% to DKR6.35bn compared with an average forecast for DKR4.68bn in a Reuters poll of analysts, whose estimates were in a DKR3.50-6.56bn range.


AP Moller-Maersk shares were up 3.9% yesterday.


Chief executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen said: “We are convinced that we will deliver a very good result again in 2011 even though we expect it to be below the result of 2010.


“We are really pleased with the (first-quarter) result, but we also realise that this is one quarter, and we will be struggling with a lot of challenges during the rest of the year, including lower rates.”


Maersk, a barometer for global shipping trade, forecasts container shipping demand will grow by between 6% and 8% during 2011.
(Source:http://en.portnews.ru)