The port services business of Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk grew faster than the market in 2011, the head of its APM Terminals unit said.

Port services revenue at APM Terminals probably grew 10-12 percent in 2011 against market growth of 6-7 percent, Chief Executive Kim Fejfer told Reuters. The figures exclude its inland business.

One of the world's biggest freight operators with 63 container terminals in 36 countries, it is positive on growth prospects in old and new markets, Fejfer said.

"We see the total market as fundamentally attractive over 10-20 years," Fejfer said by telephone from Sweden, where APM Terminals took charge of the container terminal at Gothenburg on Wednesday.

APM Terminals won a 25-year concession at Gothenburg where, it will invest $118 million -- mainly in infrastructure, such as three new cranes -- over the next five years.

The facility is Scandinavia's largest container terminal, handling some 800,000 containers per year -- about 60 percent of such traffic in Sweden -- and serves as a gateway for Swedish and Norwegian inland ports.

"We believe in growth in all markets, but the highest growth will be in new markets, so that is where we will primarily focus our attention," Fejfer said, mentioning South America, Africa, eastern Europe, Asia and India.

The ability to earn money is more important than growing market share, he added.

APM Terminals landed profit of $793 million on revenue of $4.25 billion in 2010. Maersk has said it expects the business to beat these figures, excluding divestment gains, in 2011.

According to shipping consultancy Drewry, APM Terminals was the world's third-biggest ports operator in 2010 in terms of freight throughput, after Singapore's PSA and the ports arm of Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa. (Reuters)