August 12 - Maersk Group recorded a profit of USD118 million in the second quarter of 2016, down from USD1.1 billion in the same period of 2015.
Maersk attributed the sharp decrease to average container freight rates and the low oil price.
"In a second quarter impacted by low growth and falling prices in nearly all our markets, the Maersk Group delivered an underlying profit of USD134 million," said Maersk Group ceo Søren Skou.
"The result is unsatisfactory. Cost reductions and operational optimisations, however, made a significant contribution to mitigating the impact of the negative market conditions."
The group maintains its expectation for 2016 of an underlying result significantly below last year's figure.
"To ensure the future strength, profitability and development of new growth opportunities of the company, the board of directors have initiated a strategic review of the company and will report on progress of the review before the end of the third quarter of 2016," added Skou.
