AP Moller-Maersk has reported a lower than expected profit in the third quarter on the back of a loss from Maersk Line.
In its first financial report after its strategic review, the Danish giant delivered net profit of $438m, lower than the $778m last year and the $490m expected by analysts.
Boxship owner Maersk Line reported a loss of $116m, against earnings of $264m in the corresponding quarter of 2015.
The group’s revenue decreased by $933m to $9.18bn, predominantly due to a 16% decline at Maersk Line.
Soren Skou, chief executive of Maersk Group, said: “The result is unsatisfactory, but driven by low prices.
“We generally perform strongly on cost and volume across businesses."
He added: “Maersk Line for the second quarter in a row reported a loss due to continued low freight rates, down 16% year-on-year.
“Freight rates were however up 5.5% quarter-on-quarter for the first time since Q3 2014. Maersk Line performed strongly on volume and unit cost.”
"Some markets have bottomed out"
Although Maersk's result is reflecting the woes facing the shipping industry, Skou told the Financial Times there were signs that some markets had bottomed out in recent months.
Skou noted positive developments in pricing, which are expected to continue during the current quarter.
But investors had a negative reaction to the company's bottom line and caused its shares to tumble.
Shares in Maersk fell as much as 8.2% shortly after the result announcement, the biggest decline in four months.
The company has maintained its outlook for 2016 and still expects a significantly lower underlying profit.
