Hapag-Lloyd surpasses USD 26 billion in revenue and USD 10 billion in profit in 2021

A container ship of Hapag-Lloyd (Photo: Hapag-Lloyd)

Hapag-Lloyd reported very strong financial performance in 2021, with revenue rising to USD 26.4 billion, driven by higher average freight rates, to USD 2,003/TEU, compared with USD 1,115/TEU in 2020.

In addition, the Hamburg-based German shipping line increased the earning before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) by more than USD 12.8 billion in 2021, while the earning before interest and taxes (EBIT) ) also increased to $11.1 billion, and the group's net profit was about USD 10.8 billion.

The main driver of these positive business results was a sharp increase in freight rates due to strong demand for exports from Asia, according to the statement.

The company's container throughput also increased by 1 million TEU compared to 2020 due to strained supply chains, finishing at 11.9 million TEU.

At the same time, transportation costs increased significantly by 17.1% to USD 12.2 billion. Hapag-Lloyd says this is particularly due to higher fuel and charter rates, as well as increased demurrage and storage fees.

Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, commented that 2021 was a "successful year", with large investments in modern ships and new container purchases, a strengthened financial and asset position.

However, transportation costs have also increased significantly, mainly due to bottlenecks in the global supply chains.

Summary of financial statements of Hapag-Lloyd in 2021 (Source: Hapag-Lloyd)

Looking forward, Hapag-Lloyd expects earnings to pick up strongly in the first half of 2022 and the strain in global supply chains to ease in the second half of the year, "which should lead to a beginning normalisation of earnings."

Hapag-Lloyd expects EBITDA in the range of USD 12 to 14 billion and an expected EBIT between USD 10 and USD 12 billion. “This forecast, however, is uncertain due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and current developments in Ukraine,” said Hapag-Lloyd .

"The 2022 financial year has gotten off to a successful start for us, but the disruptions in the supply chains have not eased materially yet," stated Jansen, adding, "We all face the terrible war in Ukraine. We stand united with the international community, have stopped our bookings to and from Russia, and call for de-escalation and peace."

Read more:

• Global supply chain bottlenecks due to lack of containers still remain
• Global supply chain disruption expected through 2022
• Hapag-Lloyd's profits increase sevenfold in 2021
• Shippers hope that more carriers will follow CMA-CGM and Hapag-Lloyd to freeze freight rates

Source: Phaata.com (According to Hapag-Lloyd | ContainerNews)

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