A.P. Moeller Maersk A/S, Denmark’s biggest company, reported an 88 percent drop in second-quarter profit as its oil and container divisions both suffered from falling prices.
The underlying result fell to $134 million from $1.1 billion a year earlier, the Copenhagen-based company said in a statement on Friday. That missed the average estimate of $239 million in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Still, earnings before interest and tax came in at $656 million, beating an estimate of $551 million.
Maersk’s energy exploration unit has suffered from a plunge in oil prices of about 60 percent since a June 2014 peak. With the continued burden of falling freight rates pummeling Maersk’s shipping business, the company is now exploring its strategic options and may spin off some units.
The company on June 23 fired Chief Executive Officer Nils Smedegaard Andersen, replacing him with the CEO of Maersk Line, Soren Skou. The board will report on the progress of the strategic review before the end of the third quarter, it said on Friday.