COPENHAGEN, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Despite the coronavirus pandemic, after-tax profits for shipping giant Maersk soared to nearly 5.9 billion Danish Kroner (939.6 million U.S. dollars) in the third quarter (Q3) of 2020, showed the company's accounts published on Wednesday.
In comparison, Maersk recorded a profit of approximately 3.3 billion Danish Kroner after tax in Q3 2019.
Maersk attributes the rise in profits to lower oil prices, increase in freight rates, and a surprising surge in demand where they have expected falls.
"Demand surges from recovery in some geographies, particularly in China-U.S. trades where capacity increased above 2019 level at the end of the quarter, together with external factors including the availability of vessels and containers, drove rates upward, resulting in an average loaded freight rate at fixed bunker price increase of 10 percent," said the accounts.
"We have succeeded in creating momentum in both our earnings and transformation in an extraordinary year such as 2020. However, we are still very aware of the uncertainty that the pandemic and the associated lockdowns continue to pose in the coming quarters," said the company's CEO Soren Skou. (1 U.S. dollar = 6.28 Danish Kroner) Enditem
