Hapag-Lloyd has once again posted record first-half results, achieving an Ebitda of $10.9 billion. The Ebit rose to $9.9bn, and the Group profit climbed to $9.5bn.
“We have benefited from significantly improved freight rates and look back on an extraordinarily strong business performance on the whole in the first half year. At the same time, a steep rise in all cost categories is putting increased pressure on our unit costs,” says CEO Rolf Habben Jansen.
Revenues increased to $18.6bn, attributed largely to a much higher average freight rate of 2 855 USD/ TEU (H1 2021: 1 612 USD/ TEU) and a stronger US dollar.
Habben Jansen adds that global supply chains remain under significant pressure due to persistent capacity bottlenecks in ports and congested hinterland infrastructures, which together are resulting in longer turnaround times for ships and containers. Overall, transport volumes in the first half of 2022 were on a par with the same period last year, at approximately six million TEUs. The result was impacted by significantly higher expenses for container handling and charter ships as well as by a 67% increase in the average bunker consumption price to $703 per tonne (H1 2021: $421 per tonne).
Based on the current business performance, the second half year is also likely to exceed previous expectations, in his view.
The Executive Board of Hapag-Lloyd has therefore raised its earnings forecast for the current financial year, expecting an Ebitda in the range of $19.5 to 21.5bn and an Ebit in the range of $17.5 to 19.5bn.
This comes with a caveat, however, pending the impact of the war in Ukraine, the ongoing disruptions in supply chains, and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are currently seeing the first signs in some trade lanes that spot rates are easing in the market. Nevertheless, we are expecting a strong second half of the year. The currently still-strained situation in the global supply chains should improve after this year’s peak season,” Habben Jansen says.
