Danish shipping giant gains unexpected profit in 1Q

COPENHAGEN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk made an unexpected net profit of 3.4 billion Danish Krones (600 million U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of this year, the group announced Wednesday.

The profit was way above expectations of 1.1 billion Danish Krones (190 million dollars). Last year, the conglomerate recorded a deficit of 2.1 billion Danish Krones (360 million dollars) in the first quarter.

"We expect an improved performance in relation to earlier expectations for a modest surplus primarily due to growth in our container business, which is now expected to be profitable in 2010," Nils Smedegaard Andersen, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk, told Danish television TV2 on Wednesday.

However, the shipping group cautioned that uncertainty remains for the development of the container business in the rest of this year given the fragile situation of the global economy.

"But we will continue to improve our competitiveness and we are ready to seize the opportunities arising in the wake of the crisis," said Nils Smedegaard Andersen.

A.P. Moller Maersk Group is one of the world's largest shipping companies which is involved in activities in energy, logistics, retail and manufacturing industries. It is also the biggest enterprise in Denmark.

Editor: Xiong Tong

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