Hapag-Lloyd Earnings Hit as Global Supply Chains Returned to Normal in 2023

Hapag-Lloyd reported a significant decline in its 2023 earnings due largely to lower freight rates as global supply chains returned to normal, the company said Tuesday.

Preliminary and unaudited figures suggest a Group EBITDA of US $4.8 billion, down from $20.5 billion in 2022, and a Group EBIT of $2.7 billion, down from $18.5 billion in 2022.

The company’s revenues also took a hit, falling to $19.4 billion, compared to $36.4 billion in 2022. This is mainly because the average freight rate dropped to 1,500 USD/TEU, a significant decrease from the 2022 average rate of 2,863 USD/TEU.

While transport volumes for the entire year of 2023 saw a slight increase of 0.5% to 11.9 million TEU, up from 11.8 million TEU in 2022, the ongoing conflict in the Red Sea had a negative impact on transport volumes towards the end of the year as the rerouting of ships prolonged voyage times.

Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth largest liner shipping company, operates 264 modern container ships with a total transport capacity of 2.0 million TEU. The company also has stakes in 20 terminals across Europe, Latin America, the United States, India, and North Africa.

The company plans to release its audited 2023 Annual Report, which will include financial figures as well as an outlook for the current financial year, on March 14, 2024.

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