World’s biggest shipping firm Maersk reports 68% rise in revenue

The world’s biggest shipping company, Denmark’s AP Moller-Maersk, has reported a sharp rise in earnings amid strong worldwide demand for shipments of goods as the economy bounces back from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Copenhagen-based company said revenue grew nearly 68% in the third quarter, to a record-high 16.6 billion US dollars (£12.2 billion), up from 9.9 billion US dollars (£7.3 billion) in the same three-month period last year.

It reported profits of 5.5 billion US dollars (£4 billion), up from 947 million US dollars (£694 million) in the same period last year.

Chief executive Soren Skou said: “In the ongoing exceptional market situation, with high demand in the US and global disruptions to the supply chains, we continued to increase capacity and expand our offerings to keep cargo moving for our customers.”