On 10 June 2005, A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S and Royal P&O Nedlloyd N.V. ("RPONL") jointly announced the recommended public offer for RPONL by A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S. The offer expires at 15:00 hours, Amsterdam time on 4 August 2005, unless extended.

RPONL is today announcing its first half results for the 6 months ended 30 June 2005. Highlights of these results are as follows:

Operating profit up by 92% to $213 million (2004: $111 million*)
Revenue up by 15% to $3,617 million (2004: $3,135 million)
Average freight rates up 13% on first half 2004
Volume up by 3% on first half 2004
Trading outlook continues to be positive
Commenting on the results and the outlook for the year, Royal P&O Nedlloyd CEO, Philip Green, said:

"We have made excellent progress during the first half of 2005 and the outlook for the full year remains positive. Notwithstanding increased operational cost pressures, the successful implementation of our yield management programme has contributed to our improved profitability. In addition, the supply and demand balance for the container shipping industry has resulted in strong freight rate and revenue growth.

As stated in our trading update of 21 July, and subject to any unforeseen change in the economic environment, we currently expect to achieve profit before interest and tax for 2005 of not less than $550 million."