Danish conglomerate A.P. Møller-Maersk A/S on Friday cut its full-year profit guidance, saying global demand for container shipping — the conglomerate’s biggest contributor — has been weaker than expected.
The company said it expected underlying earnings to come in at $3.4 billion this year, compared with its previous guidance of $4 billion, based on a weaker-than-expected performance at its Maersk Line unit, the world’s biggest container-shipping operator in terms of capacity. That unit now expects full-year underlying earnings of $1.6 billion, compared with an earlier forecast of more than $2.2 billion.
Maersk Chief Executive Nils Andersen said the average rate per 40-foot container across all ocean routes in the third quarter had fallen by more than $500 compared with the year-earlier period.