Danish giant reports lower than expected profit and describes result as “unsatisfactory”.

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.

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.”

The group’s revenue decreased by $933m to $9.18bn, predominantly due to a 16% decline at Maersk Line.

Read the full article at TradeWinds.