Hapag-Lloyd has more than doubled its net profit for the first nine months of the year, achieving an Ebitda of $16.6 billion and an Ebit of $15.1bn, with Group profit climbing to $14.7bn.
“Thanks to higher freight rates, we have achieved an exceptionally strong nine-month result. However, we are also seeing that the market environment has deteriorated further in the third quarter. This is evident, for example, in falling spot rates and rising inflation-related unit costs,” CEO Rolf Habben Jansen.
Disruptions in the global supply chains during this period resulted in longer turnaround times for ships and containers – and at the end of the third quarter there was weaker demand for container transport and consequently a slight easing in the shortage of available transport capacity.
Transport volumes were on a par with last year, while revenues increased to $28.4bn. This can mainly be attributed to a significant increase in the average freight rate, to 2 938 $/TEU (9M 2021: 1 818 $/TEU), and a stronger US dollar.
Transport expenses climbed to $10.8bn. This was due in part to a significantly higher bunker consumption price of $755 per tonne (9M 2021: $452 per tonne), and higher expenses for container handling.
Overall, the strong business performance in the first nine months was in line with the forecast adjusted on July 28, according to the statement. This also applies to the course of the fourth quarter to date.
Thus, for the 2022 financial year, an Ebitda in the range of $19.5 to 21.5bn and an Ebit in the range of $17.5 to 19.5bn are still expected.
The line has warned, however, that this forecast remains subject to considerable uncertainty given Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions that have not yet been fully resolved, and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In the coming months, the strained situation in the global supply chains should continue to normalise. At the same time, our strong balance sheet will help us to stay on course even in difficult waters. We will stick to our strategic agenda while investing more in quality and growth as well as in the further decarbonisation of our fleet. One very significant focus is investment in infrastructure, which we are using to further expand our terminal portfolio,” Habben Jansen added.
In driving its Strategy 2023, Hapag-Lloyd has continuously expanded its involvement in the terminal sector, most recently through agreements on acquiring stakes in the terminal business of Chile-based SM SAAM and the Italy-based Spinelli Group. In addition, it has stakes in JadeWeserPort in Wilhelmshaven, the Container Terminal Altenwerder in Hamburg, Terminal TC3 in Tangier, and Terminal 2 in Damietta, which is currently under construction.
