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Group profit soars to US$6.7 billion in the first nine months of 2021 despite operational challenges
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Higher earnings due to higher freight rates amid persistent excess demand
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Hapag-Lloyd expects the earnings momentum to also remain at a high level for the rest of the year
Hapag-Lloyd reported a group profit of nearly US$6.7 billion for January to September 2021, saying the “extraordinary strong nine-month result” was achieved despite the enormous operational challenges facing transport operators.
The German container shipping liner in a release said it earned $6.655 billion in the first three quarters, more than a tenfold increase from the same period the year prior, where profits reached $605 million.
EBITDA from January to September amounted to $8.2 billion, up from $2.0 billion year-on-year. The EBIT was also much higher than in the prior-year period, at $6.9 billion from $965 million.
Revenues rose in the first nine months of 2021 by approximately 70% to $17.9 billion from $10.5 billion. The rise can primarily be attributed to a higher average freight rate of $1,818 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) compared to $1,097 per TEU in the same period last year.
“This significant increase is mainly the result of persistently high demand for container transports with scarce capacities at the same time. In addition, transport volumes were up to 8,980 TTEU and thereby 3% higher than the comparable figure for the previous year,” Hapag-Lloyd said.
Transport expenses climbed 16% in the nine-month period to $8.9 billion, partly due to higher costs for container handling and an increased average bunker consumption price.
“Despite all the operational challenges, we achieved an extraordinary strong nine-month result. However, global supply chains are under enormous pressure, which further intensified during the peak season in the third quarter. This unfortunately also creates additional operational burdens for carriers, ports and terminals—but, most importantly, for customers worldwide. We will do everything in our power to help with suitable offers and to do our part to resolve the situation through targeted investments and flexible capacity management,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd.
Looking ahead, the shipping company expects the earnings momentum to also remain at a high level for the rest of the year.
Thus it also adjusted upwards on October 29 its earnings forecast for the 2021 financial year. EBITDA is now in the range of EUR10.1 billion to EUR10.9 billion from the previous EUR7.6 billion to EUR9.3 billion. EBIT is now expected in the range of EUR8.7 billion to EUR9.5 billion from the previous EUR6.2 billion to EUR7.9 billion.
Photo from Hapag-Lloyd website
