Hapag Lloyd's 9-month net profit slumps 77%, cuts outlook

Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG

09/11/2023 07:12

FRANKFURT, Nov 9 (Reuters) - German container shipper
Hapag-Lloyd  HLAG.DE  on Thursday posted a net profit of 3.2
billion euros ($3.43 billion) for the first nine months of 2023,
down by 77% from a year earlier, and cut its forecasts for
full-year earnings.
    Net profit was down from 13.8 billion euros in comparable
2022 when the shipping industry, a proxy for global trade,
boomed amid post-pandemic recovery and because logistics
disruptions drove up prices for consumers.
    "Results are significantly below the prior-year level due to
the severe change in market conditions," said Hapag-Lloyd, the
world's fifth-biggest container liner, in a press release.
    This year, the global economic slowdown and the clearing of
port logjams sent freight rates down sharply, which has also
harmed Hapag-Lloyd competitor Maersk  MAERSKb.CO .
    Hapag-Lloyd said its 2023 earnings before interest and taxes
(EBIT) were now seen to be ranging between 2.2-3.1 billion
euros, down from a 2-4 billion euros range quoted before.
    EBITDA was expected to be in a range of 4.1-5 billion euros
vis-a-vis a previous range of 4-6 billion euros.
    Transport volumes, however, remained almost at par with
those in the prior year at 8.9 million twenty-foot equivalent
units (TEU), up nearly 5% year-on-year in the third quarter.
    Relief also came from lower shipping fuel prices, which
dropped by 19% to an average $611 per tonne in the nine months.
    Freight rates were off 45% in the nine months at $1,604 per
TEU, pressuring earnings.
    "If spot rates do not recover, we could face some
challenging quarters in this subdued market environment," said
chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen. 
    
($1 = 0.9340 euros)

 (Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
 ((vera.eckert@thomsonreuters.com; +49 30 2201 33654;
@EckertVera;))