Maersk posts heavy loss in 2016; chairman to step down

Danish shipping and oil conglomerate AP Moller-Maersk registered a heavy loss in 2016 due to write-downs in its oil services division, the company said, as it announced the chairman would step down.Maersk booked $2.7bn (€2.5bn) of write-downs in the fourth quarter for its subsidiaries Maersk Supply Service and Maersk Drilling “as a consequence of an expected weaker outlook.”The group’s strategy has long been to have a balance between shipping, which benefits from low oil prices, and oil production, which is profitable when oil prices are high.But the business model has been battered in recent years, as both oil and shipping prices have been low. “2016 was a difficult year, with headwinds in all our markets,” it said in a statement. Loss amounted to $1.94bn, compared to a profit of $791mn in 2015. Sales fell by 12% to $35.46bn.Chairman of the board Michael Pram Rasmussen, who has held the job for 14 years, announced his resignation effective March 28. Rasmussen will be succeeded by Danish businessman Jim Hagemann Snabe, formerly the chief executive of German software manufacturer SAP.