Maersk sees better 2010 after 2009 loss

Danish shipping and oil group AP Moller-Maersk said it would return to a "modest" profit in 2010 after weak global trade knocked freight rates and dragged it to a deeper-than-expected loss for 2009, Oil and Gas News reported.

Chief executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen said the container shipping business would remain in the red this year though other Maersk operations – from oil and gas to offshore services, port terminals and supermarkets – would continue to perform well.

"We are not guaranteeing that we will be back in the black in 2010, but at the moment it is our strong ambition and expectation to deliver a profit this year," he said.

"Priority number one is to return to profit," he told analysts after AP Moller-Maersk reported a 2009 net loss of US$1.01 billion, the group’s first ever annual loss.

"The main factors driving (2009 results) down of course were low rates in containers and in tankers as well as a significant drop in the oil price – the se were really the negatives of last year," Andersen said.

"We do not expect the container line to be back in profits in 2010," Andersen said. "Rates have improved but they are still not at a level where they can give acceptable profitability."

(Source: Cargo News Asia)