Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on November 14, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 28, 2026
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FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German container firm Hapag-Lloyd on Thursday posted a 47% drop in net profit for the first nine months of 2024 but retained its recently raised earnings outlook for the full year, citing higher transport volumes driven by demand.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German container firm Hapag-Lloyd on Thursday posted a 47% drop in net profit for the first nine months of 2024 but retained its recently raised earnings outlook for the full year, citing higher transport volumes driven by demand.
“We were able to further increase our transport volume compared to the previous year and can look back on a good
result overall,” said Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen.
“Looking ahead, we will continue to vigorously implement our Strategy 2030 while focusing on our growth and quality targets,” he added.
Group net profit of 1.7 billion euros ($1.79 billion) in the nine months was down from 3.2 billion euros a year earlier, said Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth biggest container shipping liner.
Attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea by Iran-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen since late last year have forced shipping companies to switch traffic away from the Suez Canal to the longer route around Africa.
The longer journeys add to costs while transport expenses have risen, a trend that freight rate income has not been able to match.
The company posted a 21% fall in earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to 3.3 billion euros in the nine months, while earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were 36% down at 1.8 billion euros.
It upheld its Oct. 24 forecast for full year EBITDA of 4.2-4.6 billion euros and EBIT of 2.2-2.6 billion euros, which could broadly match last year’s performance.
Transport volumes were up 5% year-on-year in the nine months at 9.3 million twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) standard container units.
Hapag-Lloyd last week said it had ordered 24 new ships in China for delivery between 2027 and 2029.
($1 = 0.9479 euros)
(Reporting by Vera Eckert. Editing by Mark Potter)
Net profit is the amount of money a company has earned after all expenses, taxes, and costs have been deducted from total revenue. It reflects the company's profitability.
EBITDA stands for Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. It is a measure of a company's overall financial performance and profitability.
Transport volumes refer to the quantity of goods transported over a specific period, often measured in standard container units like TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).
EBIT stands for Earnings Before Interest and Taxes. It is a measure of a firm's profit that includes all expenses except interest and income tax expenses.
A shipping route is a designated path used by ships to transport goods from one location to another, often influenced by factors like distance, safety, and cost.
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