Maersk revises expectations upwards

An improvement in container business has led the AP Moller-Maersk Group to upgrade its modest profit expectations for the year. The company now expects that the profit for 2010 will exceed that of 2008 (which was US$ 3.5 billion), provided that freight rates, oil prices and the US$ exchange rate remain stable at current levels. “This includes an accounting gain from the previously announced sale of shares in the Yantian terminal in China which has now been closed,” a spokesman said. Dansk Supermarked’s sale of Netto Foodstores Limited is still subject to approval from the UK competition authorities, and the possible gain from the sale has not been included in the estimate.