Hapag 2023 profit drops 82% to $3.2bn

German carrier Hapag-Lloyd reported an 82 percent decline in group profit at $3.2 billion for 2023 compared to $18 billion in 2022 on 47 percent drop in average freight rate to $1,500/TEU.

Group revenue was down 47 percent to $19.4 billion even as transport volume in the liner shipping segment was flat at 11.9 million TEUs. Terminal and infrastructure segment reported a revenue of $202 million and EBIT of $21 million.

“We achieved the third-best group profit in the history of our company – even if it is significantly lower than it was in the exceptionally strong year 2022 due to the normalisation of global supply chains," says Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO, Hapag-Lloyd. "We were able to considerably boost customer satisfaction and the digitalisation of our container fleet. We significantly expanded our business in the Terminal & Infrastructure segment and grew our liner shipping activities in India and Africa. We reduced our carbon footprint, taking another step towards our goal of becoming net-zero carbon by 2045."

2024 outlook
For the 2024 financial year, Hapag-Lloyd expects group EBITDA to be in the range of $1.1-3.3 billion and EBIT to be in the range of $ (-)1.1 billion to $1.1 billion. "However, this forecast remains subject to considerable uncertainty given the volatile development of freight rates and geopolitical challenges."

Jansen says: “We have got the current financial year off to a satisfactory start but the economic and political environment continues to be volatile and challenging – especially in view of the current situation around the Red Sea. We therefore expect to see an overall decrease in earnings in 2024. As part of our Strategy 2030, we will be focusing even more intensively on quality and sustainability. We will continue to grow in our new Terminal & Infrastructure business as well as our share and portfolio of hinterland transports. At the same time, we will also need to reinforce our top 5 position on the global market and realise improvements in terms of cost efficiency and productivity."

Jansen to be CEO till March 2029
The supervisory board of Hapag-Lloyd approved an early renewal of the contract of Jansen, which runs until March 31, 2027 for five years until March 31, 2029. In addition, the board has agreed to extend the contract of Chief Information Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer (CIO/CHRO) Donya-Florence Amer for another five years till January 31, 2030.

Jansen has been a member of the executive board since April 1, 2014 and the CEO since July 1, 2014.