AP Moller-Maersk has stunned the shipping industry by reporting a first quarter 2011 profit of US$1.2 billion, a massive increase of 82 percent compared to the equivalent period in 2010.
Revenue for the period increased by 10 percent to US$14.5 billion (from US$13.2 billion), primarily due to higher container freight rates, container volumes and oil prices according to the company. Maersk said the profit increase was driven by better operational performance in most business units. The group’s ROIC increased to 11.7 percent from 7.6 percent.
“We have had a good start to the year and are very satisfied with the results,” said AP Moller-Maersk Group CEO Nils S Andersen. “Our businesses have performed very well, even as tanker rates have remained low and container rates have been decreasing during the period. In the past six months we have made significant investments in ships, terminals, drilling rigs and oil fields. These reflect our continued strong confidence in the long term future of our markets and not least our ability to continue to compete successfully.”