Denmark-based Maersk Line reported a profit of US$498 million in the third quarter of the year against a loss of $289 million in the same period in 2011. The container shipping giant attributed its swing to black to higher rates on all its main trades.
Its better-than-expected showing helped to bolster the consolidated profit of its mother company, A.P. Moller-Maersk, which delivered $933 million in the quarter, up 151 percent from $371 million year-on-year. The increased profit came despite a revenue decline of 5 percent to $14.6 billion.
“We deliver a good result for the quarter considering the challenging economic environment. Thanks to our rate initiatives and cost reductions, Maersk Line is back in black figures year-to-date,” said group CEO Nils S. Andersen. “Maersk Line has done what they set out to do when we entered the second quarter and will continue their efforts to secure rates at a level where we can achieve a fair return on our investments.”
As for the group’s other businesses, Maersk Oil’s profit for the period was $243 million from last year’s $368 million, while APM Terminals’ profit for Q3 was $160 million from $173 million a year ago. Maersk Drilling’s earnings for the period were $87 million from $139 million in 2011.
For the first nine months of 2012, group revenue decreased slightly to $44.3 billion from $45.3 billion in 2011.
A.P. Moller-Maersk expects a result for 2012 of around $3.7 billion, up from $3.4 billion in 2011. Maersk Line, it said, should post “a modest positive result” for the year based on higher average rates in the second half of 2012.
