News / Strong Q3 just the tonic to revive Hapag-Lloyd after a weak first half

© Nils Prause

Soaring freight rates and strong third-quarter demand revived Hapag-Lloyd after a relatively difficult first half, according to its latest interim results, out today.

The German carrier loaded just over 3.2m teu during the quarter, compared with 3.1m teu the year before, while its average freight rate grew nearly 23%, to $1,612 per teu, up from $1,312 per teu in Q3 23, when rates began to drop precipitously.

This produced 28% year-on-year growth in shipping revenues, to €5.1bn ($5.37bn), while EBITDA more than doubled, from €668m in Q3 last year to €1.4bn this year.

The third quarter helped Hapag-Lloyd make up for a weak first half of the year – in comparison with the strong H1 in 2023 – with nine-month group-wide revenues of €14.1bn just 0.5% down on last year, while nine-month group EBITDA was down 21% on 2023 at €3.3bn.

“The first nine months of 2024 were marked by unexpectedly strong demand,” said chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen.

“Despite the tense security situation in the Red Sea and the associated rerouting of ships, we were able to further increase our transport volume, compared with the previous year, and can look back on a good result overall,” he added.

Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet capacity also increased this year, from 1.9m teu to 2.2m teu, and is set to be bolstered again between 2027 and 2029 with the delivery of some 24 new vessels with a total capacity of 312,000 teu.

The order, placed this month, is valued at $4bn – with $3bn financing already secured – and would “further modernise and decarbonise our fleet and thereby secure our long-term competitiveness”, said Mr Habben Jansen.

Meanwhile, its recently rebranded ports business, Hanseatic Global Terminals, delivered an EBITDA of €31m on revenue of €100m, compared with €13m and €74m respectively in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Hapag-Lloyd reaffirmed its year-end outlook, with 2024 group EBIT now expected to be in the €2.2bn-€2.6bn range, as disclosed in late October.

Interestingly, its 2024 guidance has changed along  with its fortunes over the course of the year: on 14 March it forecasted an EBIT of between a €1bn loss and a possible €1bn profit; later it upped the guidance to between €0 and €1bn; and in July raised it again, to €1.2bn-€2.2bn.

During a call with analysts and investors today, Mr Habben Jansen said the outlook for the next quarter remained uncertain, but said early indications from contract rate negotiations for 2025 on the Asia-Europe trades were positive.

“We are just going into the contract negotiation season, but compared with last year we have signed up a little more volume.

“As for contract rates, there is still a significant gap between where current contract rates are and where spot rates are; it’s logical that contract rates will go up,” he explained.