Hapag-Lloyd Sees Drop in 2016 Operating Profit

Hapag-Lloyd On the back of a prolonged depression in the container shipping market, the German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd reported a 65.6 percent drop in its 2016 operating result (EBIT). The companys EBIT stood at EUR 126 million at the end of the year, significantly lower from the operating result of EUR 366.4 million reported in 2015. Based on the preliminary unaudited figures earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation of intangible and fixed assets (EBITDA) reached EUR 607 million, down from EUR 831 million seen in 2015. In the fourth quarter Hapag-Lloyd was able to increase EBITDA to EUR 226 million, compared to EUR 140.4 million reported in the same period in 2015, while its EBIT increased to EUR 100 million from EUR 17.8 million in the respective periods. Due to a lower average freight rate in 2016 of 1,036 USD/TEU, Hapag-Lloyd said that its revenue decreased to EUR 7.7 billion from EUR 8.8 billion seen in 2015. At the same time, the companys transport volume was up by 2.7% to 7.6 million TEU. As at December 31, 2016, Hapag-Lloyd had EUR 5.1 billion in equity and a liquidity reserve of EUR 760 million.