Maersk said its second quarter figures would be negatively affected by low returns in maritime shipping but that earnings would pick up again in the rest of the year.

"We had a very good first quarter and we also had a very good year last year. We are a strong company, but we already know that (container shipping division) Maersk Line will not have a good result in the second quarter," chief executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen told the Ritzau news agency.

The company's first quarter earnings were dragged up by an 11 percent hike in sales to 79.1 billion kroner (10.6 billion euros, 15.21 billion dollars) thanks to higher prices and volumes in freight transport and higher oil prices.

The net profit of 6.35 billion kroner, up 85 percent from the first quarter of 2010, easily beat expectation of analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, who saw a net profit of 4.49 billion kroner and sales of 76.7 billion dollars.