Hapag-Lloyd reports significant decline in Q1 financial results

German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd concluded the first quarter of 2024 with revenues of US$4.6 billion and a Group EBITDA of US$942 million. Additionally, Hapag-Lloyd recorded US$396 million in EBIT and a profit of US$325 million.

All the figures are significantly decreased compared with the numbers in the same period last year.

The Hamburg-based ocean carrier moved 3 million TEUs in the first three months of the year, translating to an increase of 6.8% compared with the first quarter of 2023. The company noted that transport expenses were on a par with the same quarter of the previous year, at US$3.3 billion.

Although costs rose significantly as a result of the rerouting of ships around the Cape of Good Hope, these were largely offset by active cost management, according to Hapag-Lloyd’s report.

“Even though our results are significantly below the exceptionally strong figures from the previous year owing to the normalisation of supply chains, we are pleased to have got the new year off to a good start,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG.

He went on to add, “The rates stabilised in the first quarter due to the rerouting of ships around the Cape of Good Hope and higher demand for capacity. The numerous new ships that have been and will be delivered across the industry in 2024 have been instrumental to keep the Supply Chains going without too much disruption.”

Jansedn pointed out that “Going forward, we must keep a close eye on our costs, and we will continue the implementation of our Strategy 2030 – with main focus on our decarbonisation initiatives and our promise to be the undisputed number one for quality for our customers.”

In view of the positive business performance in the first quarter of 2024, the Executive Board of the company has refined its forecast for the current financial year, which was published on 14 March.

The Group EBITDA is now expected to be in the range of US$2.2 to 3.3 billion and the Group EBIT to be in the range of US$0 to 1.1 billion, while it is still assumed that a large part of the projected result will be generated in the first half of the year.

Source: Container-News

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