Low oil prices, freight rates hit Maersk group's profits

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) ' Denmark's shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk says its profit dropped 89 percent in the second quarter, negatively impacted by significantly lower container freight rates and oil prices.The Copenhagen-based group said Friday that profit dropped to $118 million in the three-month period that ended June 30, from $1.09 billion. Revenue fell to $5.1 billion, down from $6.3 billion.Soeren Skou, chief executive of one of the world's biggest shipping conglomerates, said "the result is unsatisfactory."The group said its full-year expectation of "an underlying result significantly below last year" which was $3.1 billion, was "unchanged."Maersk shares dropped 0.6 percent in morning trading in Copenhagen to 9,065 kroner ($1,360).Denmark's biggest company has some 89,000 employees and activities in more than 130 countries. Results were posted in U.S. dollars.Join the conversation about this story
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