AP Moller Holding chief executive Robert Maersk Uggla is not getting too carried away with soaring profits and boxship rates at AP Moller-Maersk.

The Danish executive, whose company is Maersk's majority shareholder has expressed caution in what has been described as his first major newspaper interview.

Maersk Uggla told the Borsen daily that he is pleased things are "going better" for the group, which has seen its share price triple from last March to DKK 15,210 ($2,484), as investment banks pour praise on the company's performance and prospects.

But the chief executive said work on transforming Maersk into a full-spectrum logistics provider has not yet been completed.

Maersk Uggla said the group was possibly too late in launching its reorganisation that saw the energy businesses largely separate from the container line and terminals.

He added Maersk has "a good grip on many important initiatives, not least the digital side".

"But one must not forget that container shipping is a cyclical industry, and Maersk is not at all finished with the work of building a strong logistics side," Maersk Uggla added.

He also said the mood of analysts and the media tends to fluctuate with freight rates.

"We look at it more long term," he added.

Clarksons Research said on Thursday there had been continued upwards momentum in the booming containership charter market, with operators now moving for new and renewal business.

Record rates

The six to 12-month time-charter rate for a 2,750-teu boxship is now at $18,750 per day, more than double the 10-year average.

There was also another new record for freight rates, with the Shanghai Container Freight Index rising a further 3% on Friday from the previous seven days.

Last November, Maersk launched a new share buy-back programme of DKK 10bn following another strong quarter.

The decision is supported by strong earnings and free cash-flow generation seen in 2020, the company said.

There was a sharp rise in profit in the third quarter.

Group Ebitda grew to $2.3bn, a 39% jump compared with the same period of 2019, while net profit rose to $947m from $520m a year earlier.

This came despite a drop in revenues of 1.4% to $9.9bn, which was due to stringent costs control and agile capacity management of its liner operations.