Shares in the world's leading container shipping group, AP Moeller-Maersk, plummeted Thursday after the Danish firm made a weaker than expected profit forecast citing uncertainty over the US-China trade war. The company's stocks fell more than 10 percent to 8.4 kroner ($1.2, 1.1 euros) on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange in midday trading following the announcement.

The firm however said it had been back in the black last year, with a net profit of $3.2 billion after a loss of $1.2 billion in 2017. Revenue meanwhile reached $39 billion, up 26 percent compared to 2017, it said in a statement. Profits were boosted by $2.6 billion from the sale of Maersk Oil to French giant Total for $7.45 billion, after the deal was completed in March 2018. "In 2018, we accelerated our transformation and improved earnings despite lower than expected container volume growth and an increase in bunker fuel prices," said chief executive Soren Skou in a statement.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019