HAPAG-Lloyd has reported a strong first half of 2024 given market conditions, although results are well below the previous year’s level.
The liner shipping company, with a fleet of 287 modern container ships and a total transport capacity of 2.2 million TEU, completed the first half year of 2024 with a Group EBITDA of US$2 billion (EUR 1.8 billion).
The Group EBIT decreased to US$ 0.9 billion (EUR 0.8 billion) and the Group profit to $US 0.8 billion (EUR 0.7 billion).
In a release announcing the results it said in view of the significantly changed market conditions following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, these results are well below the previous year’s level, but they are also above the initial expectations due to higher demand and rising spot rates in the second quarter of 2024.
In the Liner Shipping segment, the transport volumes increased by 5% compared to the prior-year period, to 6.1 million TEU (H1 2023: 5.8 million TEU).
Segment revenues fell by 14%, to $US 9.3 billion (EUR 8.6 billion), in particular due to a lower average freight rate of 1,391 USD/TEU (H1 2023: 1,761 USD/TEU) compared to the same period last year.
The EBITDA decreased to $US 1.9 billion (EUR 1.8 billion). The EBIT fell to USD 0.8 billion (EUR 0.8 billion).
The report said the Terminal and Infrastructure segment achieved a significant increase in sales and earnings in the first half of 2024, in particular due to the equity stakes acquired in the previous year.
The EBITDA rose to $US 71 million (EUR 66 million) and the EBIT to $US 33 million (EUR 31 million). Since the segment was founded in the second half of 2023, the report said the results for the first half of 2024 are only comparable with the prior-year figures to a limited extent.
CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG, Rolf Habben Jansen said while they had been unable to match the exceptionally good results of the prior year, they had delivered a very good first half of 2024 thanks to strong demand and better spot rates.
“We have added several new ships and containers to our fleet,” Mr Jansen said.
“This has helped us to meet the additional capacity requirements resulting from the security situation in the Red Sea and the rerouting of ships around the Cape of Good Hope, thereby keeping supply chains intact.
“At the same time, we have made more progress in our efforts to decarbonise our fleet as well as in building up our terminal business under the Hanseatic Global Terminals brand. In the second half of the year, we will increasingly focus on continued growth and the high quality of our services.” With demand and freight rates exceeding expectations, the Executive Board raised its forecast for the current financial year on 9 July 2024. The Group EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $US 3.5 to 4.6 billion (EUR 3.2 to 4.2 billion) and the Group EBIT to be in the range of $US 1.3 to 2.4 billion (EUR 1.2 to 2.2 billion). In view of the highly volatile development of freight rates and major geopolitical challenges, this forecast remains subject to a high degree of uncertainty.
