Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk aims to cut costs by a further $500 million this year, it said in a company newsletter published on Monday. The group, which includes the world's biggest container shipping company Maersk Line, cut more than $2 billion in costs in 2009 when it had its first annual loss on record due to weak shipping markets and lower oil prices in the global crisis.
"The new priority ... means going for an additional $500 million in 2010," the company said in its Maersk Post internal magazine.
"We are not cutting just to survive but to become more competitive," Chief Executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen said.
Andersen said it would be harder in 2010 to find expenses to cut than it was in 2009, but that the group would go for smaller cuts and eliminate or turn around less profitable units.
"2010 will be another demanding year, but I do believe that Maersk Line has the potential to make a far better profit per container transported than its competitors," Andersen told the magazine.
"This means that we should be able to reach a reasonable result even in the tough circumstances that we will be facing this year," he said.
A.P. Moller-Maersk said in its 2009 report earlier this month that it expected to make a modest profit in 2010, though Maersk Line was likely to remain in the red as freight rates have not yet recovered to a satisfactory level.
"The new priority ... means going for an additional $500 million in 2010," the company said in its Maersk Post internal magazine.
"We are not cutting just to survive but to become more competitive," Chief Executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen said.
Andersen said it would be harder in 2010 to find expenses to cut than it was in 2009, but that the group would go for smaller cuts and eliminate or turn around less profitable units.
"2010 will be another demanding year, but I do believe that Maersk Line has the potential to make a far better profit per container transported than its competitors," Andersen told the magazine.
"This means that we should be able to reach a reasonable result even in the tough circumstances that we will be facing this year," he said.
A.P. Moller-Maersk said in its 2009 report earlier this month that it expected to make a modest profit in 2010, though Maersk Line was likely to remain in the red as freight rates have not yet recovered to a satisfactory level.