German shipping major, Hapag-Lloyd ended the first quarter of the current financial year on a positive note, according to a statement released by the company today (Friday).
Volumes increased by 6.8% year-on-year to 1.9 million TEUs while revenue grew sizeably by 10.4% from EUR 1.93 million in the previous year to EUR 2.13 billion.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), however, remained relatively unchanged dropping by EUR 1.3 million to EUR 3.5 million.
A spokesperson noted that the first quarter result was noticeably affected by ongoing bunker price increases – the highest level seen since June 2015.
“Our activities in the first quarter focused on preparations for the merger with UASC [United Arab Shipping Company] and on the launch of our new alliance,” said Hapag-Lloyd CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen. “The launch of THE Alliance went well, and the merger with UASC will be closed shortly.”
