Better outlook for container shipping

SHIPPING: Nils Smedegaard Andersen, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk, says the economic performance of Maersk Line has been disappointing for the last 10 years, but that he believes that the business will be better positioned a year from now.

"Although we are not as well positioned as we hoped to be a year ago, the early signs are positive and I am optimistic that Maersk Line will be in a much stronger position in a year's time", Smedegaard Andersen said in the company magazine Maersk Post,

Nils Smedegaard Andersen said Maersk Line now needs to squeeze out the last unnecessary costs and work to restore rates by expanding its fleet only as fast as the market.

"In spite of the difficult short and medium-term outlook for world markets, I am convinced that our clear strategy and strong and consistent execution will enable us to strengthen our foundation and enable us to increase the Group's results over the coming years", Smedegaard says.

Maersk, which is scheduled to report first-half results on August 14, has forecast a profit for 2012 slightly lower than the $3.4 billion it made in 2011, and a "negative up to neutral" result for Maersk Line this year.

Some analysts have said that recent freight rate increases could lead the group to upgrade guidance for Maersk Line.

Source: Wall Street Journal