COPENHAGEN: Shares in A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S soared the most since February after the owner of the world’s largest container line said profit exceeded estimates despite a slump in freight rates.
Maersk shares rose 7.4 percent to 12,790 kroner as of 9:39 a.m. in Copenhagen. They soared as much as 8.7 percent right after the market opened, their biggest gain since Feb. 25. Before Thursday, the stock had lost 3.7 percent in 2015, compared with a 12 percent gain in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.
Maersk Line said net operating profit after tax dropped 7.3 percent last quarter to $507 million, beating the $482 million estimate in a survey conducted by SME. Group net income fell to $1.07 billion, better than the median estimate of $729 million in a Bloomberg survey.
It “is a relief” to see the numbers, Frode Moerkedal, an analyst at Clarksons Platou Securities, said in a note. “The figures beat both our, and consensus, expectations hands down” thanks to the company “recapturing volumes and good cost control.”
Maersk Line, which transports about 15 percent of the world’s manufactured goods, said costs fell about 13 percent per transported container last quarter. The division kept its full-year forecast amid a 14 percent plunge in freight rates.
