Ocean Shippers Report Higher Profits

Ocean shipper and port operator A.P. Moeller-Maersk and Dubai-based ports operator DP World reported higher profits and said they expect improvement to continue this year, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Maersk, which owns Maersk Line, the world’s largest container-shipping company, raised its earnings expectations for the second time in as two months as demand and freight rates continued to rise, the paper reported.

The carrier expects its profit to top $4 billion this year, compared with its previous expectation of $3.5 billion and a loss last year of $1.31 billion. Its net income for the first half of this year $2.31 billion, Bloomberg reported.

DP World reported its profit rose 10% in the first half of the year, to $206 million, from $188 million a year earlier, the Journal reported on its website.