Maersk second-quarter beats expectations, warns trade war may hurt container business

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk <MAERSKb.CO> on Thursday posted second-quarter profit above expectations and reaffirmed its full-year guidance but warned a trade war between the United States and China could hurt the container sector.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) totalled $1.36 billion (1.13 billion pounds), topping the $1.24 billion forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.

Maersk, the world's largest container shipping company, said it still expects EBITDA for the full year to total $5 billion.

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; editing by Jason Neely)