Ocean, Air Traffic Boost Damco Profit 8 Percent

Damco’s profit in the first nine months of 2011 rose 8 percent year-over-year to $567.7 million, as ocean and air freight volume rose despite “difficult market conditions.”

The freight forwarding arm of A.P. Moller-Maserk Group saw revenue rise 6 percent year-over-year to $2.15 billion, as ocean traffic increased 14 percent and air traffic tonnage jumped 23 percent. The Madison, N.J.-based company’s supply chain management business fell 3 percent year-over-year in the January-September period, largely because of weak consumer demand in North America and Europe.

"The traditional annual peak season in Q3 was rather muted this year,” said CEO Rolf Habben-Jansen. “Despite the challenging market we remain very positive about our ability to deliver on our growth strategy in the years to come.”

Habben-Jansen said he was encouraged by the large number of new contracts the company has gained this year. For example, Damco announced last month it had expanded its contract with Sun America Imports, a U.S-based importer wholesale of fresh produce and perishables from Latin American and North America.

-- Contact Mark Szakonyi at mszakonyi@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @Szakonyi_JOC