News Drives A.P. Moeller Shares Down

Shares in A.P. Moeller dropped three percent after news reports container traffic growth was slowing due to the weaker U.S. economy. At 1005 GMT Moeller's two shares, D/S 1912 and D/S Svendborg, traded at 81,000 crowns ($10,097) and 108,000 crowns respectively, down 3.0 and 2.7 percent compared to closing prices on Friday. Container traffic and freight rates may tumble this year compared to 2000, denting Moeller's profits. Analysts told Borsen that Moeller was poised to lose five billions crowns in revenue this year compared to 2000, primarily due to lower rates for Pacific traffic. "We might well return to a normal growth scenario in 2001 and not see two-digit growth rates as we did last year. This is a correction following an unusually strong 2000," Maersk Sealand deputy director Jesper Kjaerdegaard told Oekonomisk Ugebrev, referring to container growth in Pacific routes. The A.P. Moeller group includes the world's biggest container line Maersk Sealand. - (Reuters)