German shipping major Hapag-Lloyd has concluded the first quarter of 2023 with an Ebitda of $2.4 billion. Ebit decreased to $1.9bn billion compared to the same quarter last year, and the Group profit was also below the prior-year level, at $2 billion.
According to a statement just released, transport volumes were 4.9% lower than in the first quarter of last year, at 2 842 TTEU (Q1 2022: 2 987 TTEU), owing to local destocking and weaker overall global demand. In addition, the lower average freight rate of 1 999 USD/TEU (Q1 2022: 2 774 USD/TEU) was particularly responsible for the decline in revenue, which decreased to $6bn. Transport expenses remained at the prior-year level of $3.3 billion – but the lower transport volumes were accompanied by inflation-related cost increases and a higher bunker consumption price of $645/t (Q1 2022: $613/t).
“The market environment has normalised, with corresponding declines in demand and freight rates. This will undoubtedly have an impact on our earnings over the course of the year, so we will be keeping a very close eye on our costs,” said CEO Rolf Habben Jansen.
For the full year 2023, Hapag-Lloyd has confirmed the forecast published on March 2. Ebitda is expected to be in the range of $4.3-6.5bn and Ebit $2.1-4.3bn. However, the ongoing war in Ukraine, other geopolitical uncertainties, and persistent inflationary pressures are creating risks that could negatively impact the forecast.
