The German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd reported on Wednesday that it concluded the first quarter of 2024 with a Group EBITDA of $942 million (mdd). Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, the Group’s EBIT decreased to $396 million and the profit to $325 million.
In the shipping line segment, transport volumes for the first quarter of 2024 increased by 6.8% to three million TEUs (20-foot containers), compared to 2.8 million TEUs in the same period a year earlier.
Transport expenses were comparable to the same quarter of the previous year at $3.3 billion.
Although costs increased significantly due to ship diversion around the Cape of Good Hope, these were largely offset by active cost management. Revenues decreased to $4.6 billion mainly due to a lower average freight rate of $1,359/TEU.
Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, EBITDA decreased to $906 million and EBIT to $378 million.
In the Terminals and Infrastructure segment, an EBITDA of $35 million and an EBIT of $18 million were achieved in the first quarter of 2024. This new segment was only created in the second half of 2023 and is currently in the establishment process. For this reason, the figures for the first quarter of 2024 are only comparable to the figures for the previous year to a limited extent.
“Although our results are significantly below the exceptionally strong figures of the previous year due to the normalization of supply chains, we are pleased to have started the new year well. Rates stabilized in the first quarter due to ship diversion around the Cape of Good Hope and increased demand for capacity. The numerous new ships that have been and will be delivered in the industry in 2024 have been crucial in keeping supply chains running without too many interruptions. Going forward, we must maintain strict control over our costs and continue the implementation of our Strategy 2030, with a primary focus on our decarbonization initiatives and our promise to be the undisputed number one in quality for our customers,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG.
In view of the good commercial performance in the first quarter of 2024, the Executive Board has revised its forecast for the current fiscal year, which was published on March 14, 2024. Group EBITDA is now expected to be in the range of $2.2 to $3.3 billion and Group EBIT in the range of $0 to $1.1 billion. It is still assumed that a large part of the projected result will be generated in the first half of the year. Given the highly volatile development of freight rates and the major geopolitical challenges, this forecast remains subject to a high degree of uncertainty.
With information from Portal Portuario, a media outlet specialized in ports and maritime transport in Chile.
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