Hapag-Lloyd tests the "new normal"
Shortly after announcing its plans for forming a new alliance with Maersk in February 2025, Hapag-Lloyd reported its preliminary business figures for the full year 2023. Handled volumes grew slightly by 0.5% to 11.9 million teu last year (2022: 11.8 million teu).
Revenues and ebitda returned to the "new normal" after two boom years, with revenues at EUR 17.9 billion (2022: EUR 34.5 billion). Group ebitda amounted to EUR 4.5 billion (2022: EUR 19.4 billion), and group ebit saw a year-on-year decline to EUR 2.5 billion (EUR 17.5 billion). The company attributed this development to the "lower average freight rate of 1,500 USD/teu (2022: 2,863 USD/teu)".
The conflict in the Red Sea causes further turmoil, as the rerouting of ships around the Cape of Good Hope extends voyage times.
Currently, the fleet of Hapag-Lloyd contains 264 container units with a total transport capacity of 2.0 million teu. In the liner shipping segment, the company has around 13,500 employees and 400 offices in 135 countries, while holding stakes in 20 terminals in Europe, Latin America, the USA, India, and North Africa with about 2,600 employees. Hapag-Lloyd will publish its audited financial figures for 2023 and an outlook on 2024 on 14 March 2024. (cd)