Danish conglomerate AP Moller-Maersk said yesterday that its third-quarter profit tumbled 44% to $429mn (€387mn) as low fees pushed its world-leading shipping service into loss.
However the company, which is in the midst of splitting off its oil and oil-related businesses, said profit rebounded in these units.
Overall, the group’s sales contracted 9% to $9.2bn.
“The result is unsatisfactory, but driven by low prices,” chief executive Soren Skou said in a statement. He pointed to freight rates down by 16% from last year, which pushed Maersk Line into is second straight quarterly loss.
The net loss of $116mn compared to a profit of $264mn in the July through September period last year. The loss came despite the container industry witnessing its first major bankruptcy in 30 years, when the world’s seventh largest carrier, South Korea’s Hanjin, filed for receivership in August.
Maersk Line experienced short-term increased demand for its services in the transpacific trade as a consequence, and freight rates increased by 5% from the second quarter.
In the past, the group’s oil operations have helped offset downturns in the shipping sector when oil prices rose.