Hapag-Lloyd: Significant decline in EBITDA and EBIT in 2023 as global supply chains return to normal

Hapag-Lloyd, one of the world’s leading liner shipping companies, has published its preliminary business figures for the 2023 financial year, indicating a difficult period marked by a significant fall in the company’s EBITDA and EBIT.

On the basis of preliminary and unaudited figures, the Group EBITDA stood at USD 4.8 billion (EUR 4.5 billion), while the Group EBIT experienced a year-on-year decrease to USD 2.7 billion (EUR 2.5 billion). This can largely be attributed to lower freight rates resulting from the normalisation of global supply chains.

Revenues decreased to USD 19.4 billion (EUR 17.9 billion), primarily owing to a lower average freight rate of 1,500 USD/TEU (2022: 2,863 USD/TEU). Transport volumes for 2023 as a whole rose by 0.5% to 11.9 million TEU (2022: 11.8 million TEU). However, the conflict in the Red Sea negatively impacted transport volumes at the end of the year, as the rerouting of ships around the Cape of Good Hope extended voyage times.

Hapag-Lloyd will publish its 2023 Annual Report with the audited financial figures and an outlook for the current financial year on 14 March 2024.