Low Oil Prices, Freight Rates Hit Maersk Group’s Profits

Low Oil Prices, Freight Rates Hit Maersk Group’s Profits
Photo taken on February 20, 2008 in the French harbor of Le Havre, western France, shows A. P. Moller-Maersk Group Eugen Maersk ship, the world?s largest 397 m long container vessel. AFP PHOTO ROBERT FRANCOIS Photo credit should read ROBERT FRANCOIS/AFP/Getty Images
The Associated Press
Updated:

COPENHAGEN, Denmark—Denmark’s shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk says its profit dropped 89 percent in the second quarter, negatively impacted by significantly lower container freight rates and oil prices.

The Copenhagen-based group said Friday that profit dropped to $118 million in the three-month period that ended June 30, from $1.09 billion. Revenue fell to $5.1 billion, down from $6.3 billion.

Soeren Skou, chief executive of one of the world’s biggest shipping conglomerates, said “the result is unsatisfactory.”

The group said its full-year expectation of “an underlying result significantly below last year” which was $3.1 billion, was “unchanged.”

Maersk shares dropped 0.6 percent in morning trading in Copenhagen to 9,065 kroner ($1,360).

Denmark’s biggest company has some 89,000 employees and activities in more than 130 countries. Results were posted in U.S. dollars.