Maersk line sees more than $1bn improvement in 2017

Copenhagen - AP Moller-Maersk said its container line, the world’s biggest, will be profitable in 2017 after the business lost money last year.

Maersk Line’s underlying result will be more than $1bn better than the $384m loss it booked in 2016, the Copenhagen-based company said in a stock-exchange statement on Wednesday.

The company also said its chairperson, Michael Pram Rasmussen, is stepping down after almost 18 years on the board of Maersk. He will be replaced by Jim Hagemann Snabe, who is also the chairperson of Siemens.

Maersk expects the global container market to grow 2% to 4% in 2017. The forecast comes amid a consolidation wave, with the global shipping industry struggling for the better part of a decade to adapt to excess capacity and sluggish trade growth.

Maersk is working on splitting off its four energy units, which include its North Sea petroleum producer, Maersk Oil, as the company focuses on its transport operations.

Due to impairments, the group, including the energy unit, reported a 2016 net loss of $1.94bn, when analysts had expected a profit.

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