German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd on Thursday posted a net profit of €8.7 billion ($8.94 billion) for the first half of 2022, more than three times the number a year earlier, but said that war in Ukraine and the coronavirus crisis somewhat clouded its prospects.
The company, the world's fifth-biggest container liner, upheld preliminary forecasts made on 28 July for full year 2022 EBITDA to range between €18.2 billion and €20.1 billion, and for EBIT to come in at between €16.3 billion and €18.2 billion.
Forecast
But the forecast remained subject to uncertainties about the war, the COVID-19 pandemic, and signs that spot freight rates were beginning to ease, chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen said.
The pandemic has disrupted logistics worldwide, which still leaves many ports congested and infrastructure strained, while manpower remains short, which together is resulting in longer turnaround times for ships and containers, the company said.
The first half result compared with €2.7 billion in first half of 2021.
Higher Costs
Habben Jansen said the result had been negatively affected by higher expenses for container handling and ships charters as well as by a 67% increase in shipping fuel prices to $703 per tonne.
"A steep rise in all cost categories is putting increased pressure on our unit costs," he said.
Revenues in January-June rose 94% to €17 billion largely thanks to average freight rates of $2,855 per twenty-foot equivalent standard container unit (TEU), up 77% from a year earlier, and also helped by a stronger dollar.
Transport volumes in the six months were roughly on a par with the prior-year level of 6 million TEU.
Read More: Hapag-Lloyd Q1 Net Profit More Than Triples, Expects Strong Q2
News by Reuters, edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more Supply Chain stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
