AP Moller Holding chief executive Robert Maersk Uggla has praised his group's success in keeping trade flowing during the pandemic as profit jumped in 2020.

The owner of stakes in AP Moller-Maersk, Danske Bank and Maersk Tankers, among others, logged net earnings of DKK 10bn ($1.5bn) last year, up from DKK 6.6bn in 2019.

Maersk Uggla said the group managed to weather the storm through a tumultuous and difficult year.