COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk reported a first-quarter net profit above forecast thanks to doubling of profit in container shipping business Maersk Line.
Net profit rose to $1.207 billion (716.70 million pounds), Maersk said on Wednesday, beating an average forecast of $1.072 billion in a Reuters poll of analysts.
It reiterated its overall group outlook for the full year to be significantly above the 2013 result of $3.8 billion, hit by the sale of retail unit Dansk Supermarked Group, but raised its outlook for Maersk Line to beat last year's $1.5 billion.
(Reporting by Ole Mikkelsen; Editing by David Goodman)