Maersk shares drop 10 percent despite high quarterly profits

Danish shipping giant Maersk saw its shares plunge on Thursday morning. The stock fell over 10 percent despite strong earnings.

Maersk reported a third-quarter profit of over $3 billion. This equals about DKK 20 billion. The figure is nearly three times higher than last year. Quarterly revenue grew by 27 percent to $18.1 billion. Higher freight rates and strong customer demand drove this growth.

However, the financial results fell short of market expectations. Philip Jagd is the head of equities at Sampension. He noted that quarterly freight volume and earnings disappointed analysts. Maersk raised its full-year earnings outlook. Still, analysts had already expected a larger increase.

Other Danish companies saw better stock performance on Thursday. GN Store Nord shares rose more than 12 percent. The company reported quarterly revenue of nearly DKK 2.3 billion. That represents an increase of DKK 56 million from last year. Medical equipment maker Ambu also recorded share gains after improved results. This news was reported by Copenhagen Post.