Hapag-Lloyd turns in positive third quarter

News 17 Nov 2014 by WCN Editorial

Transport volume increased by around 6%, although average freight rates were down by 4.9%

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Hapag-Lloyd ended the third quarter of 2014 with a positive operating result of €33.1M. “Although it is a first step in the right direction, we are not satisfied with the result," said CEO Rolf Habben Jansen. "We are, however, on a good path."

Alongside expected synergies worth US$300M from the combination with CSAV’s container business, Hapag-Lloyd says it is also using a comprehensive optimisation package to face the continuing challenges of the market and the competition. At the centre of this are targeted measures to cut costs further and optimise sales.

In the first nine months of 2014, Hapag-Lloyd had a transport volume of 4.3M TEU, a year-on-year increase of around 6%. Despite this increase in transport volume, transport expenses fell by €46M to €4.33B.

At US$1432/TEU, the average freight fell 2.5% compared to the same period of 2013. This was due to a weak US dollar, in addition to the low freight rate.

“We expect 2015 to be yet another challenging year, but we all have good reason to look ahead with optimism," continued Habben Jansen. "With CSAV’s container business, Hapag-Lloyd will become the fourth largest liner shipping company in the world. In addition to our market leadership in the North Atlantic, together we will also become one of the leading providers in the attractive North–South trades.”