The company said net profit was $201m to 30 September, compared to $70m in the same period last year.

Revenue grew to $4.36bn from $4.1bn and volumes hit a new high of 3.2m teu from 2.9m teu the year before, with the fleet numbering 443 ships, as opposed to 430 in 2013.

Earnings before interest and tax were down at $248m from $271m, however.

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