Weaker result expected from shipping company Hapag-Lloyd
The container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd is also expecting a lower profit for the third quarter. As in previous quarters, this is due to a normalization of global supply chains. In addition, the shortage of transport capacity during the coronavirus pandemic has given way to significantly greater supply, which is depressing prices. Hapag-Lloyd AG will announce on Thursday exactly how the period from July to September went for the Hamburg-based company. In the third quarter of 2022, the shipping company posted a profit of 5.1 billion euros.
In the first half of 2023, the Group result slumped to just under EUR 2.9 billion, after almost EUR 8.7 billion in the previous year. Profit in the second quarter fell even more sharply than in the first quarter. By way of comparison: in 2022, the company posted 8.65 billion euros at the halfway point, compared to 2.72 billion euros in the first half of 2021, which was also very profitable. CEO Rolf Habben Jansen nevertheless spoke of a "successful first half of the year". Despite the widely expected slump compared to the extraordinary record year 2022, the Hamburg-based container shipping company still posted the second-best half-year result in the company's history.
Just how difficult the third quarter was for container shipping was reflected in the quarterly figures of Hapag-Lloyd's competitor Maersk. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell from just under 9.5 billion to 538 million US dollars compared to the previous year, as the company announced at the end of last week. Maersk is the second-largest container shipping company behind MSC. Hapag-Lloyd is in fifth place with a fleet of 258 container ships.
Hapag-Lloyd is anticipating lower profits in the third quarter, as depicted in their upcoming quarterly figures. Due to the normalization of global supply chains and the relaxation of transport capacity shortages, the company's profits are expected to decrease, as seen in previous quarters.
Source: www.dpa.com
