Cargo Giant Maersk Posts $1.9B Loss for Year, Chairman Leaving

Cargo Giant Maersk Posts $1.9B Loss for Year, Chairman Leaving
Arthur Friedman
A.P. Moller – Maersk, considered the world's largest ocean cargo carrier, delivered a loss of $1.9 billion in the year ended Dec. 31 compared to a profit of $925 million in 2015, the company said Wednesday. At the same time, Maersk chairman Michael Pram Rasmussen said he would step down effective March 28. Coinciding with the company's annual meeting. The Maersk board said it intends to elect Jim Hagemann Snabe to succeed Rasmussen. Hagemann joined the company's board last year. Revenue at Maersk Group decreased 13.5 percent to $35.5 billion from $40.3 billion a year earlier, mainly due to lower average container freight rates and lower oil prices. Maersk Group chief executive officer Søren Skou said 2016 was a difficult year financially, with headwinds in all markets. "However, it was also a year when we decided to substantially transform A.P. Moller – Maersk for the future," Skou said. "We have set a new course that over the next few years will lead A.P. Moller – Maersk to become a focused container shipping, logistics and ports company with the aim of growing revenue again." Skou attributed the loss to its Maersk Line, Maersk Drilling and Maersk Supply Service units that resulted from significant oversupply and reduced long-term

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