Hapag-Lloyd has reported the first nine months of 2020 with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of more than $2bn, which represents a 20.4% increase Y-o-Y for Q3 2020. At the same time, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to $965m, surpassing the Y-o-Y figure of $722m. The Group net result improved to $605m, an increase of $272m over the previous year.
At around $10.5 billion after the first nine months of the year, revenues were about 1% below the prior-year figure. This can primarily be attributed to pandemic-related effects, including a double-digit drop in demand in the second quarter and an overall transport volume that was 3.5% lower than the prior-year figure, at 8,696 TTEU (9M 2019: 9,011 TTEU). The average freight rate was up 2%, to 1,097 USD/TEU (9M 2019: 1,075 USD/TEU), which had a positive impact on earnings. In addition, transport expenses decreased more than proportionately by 6%, due to a combination of lower transport volumes, a lower average bunker price of $402 per metric tonne (9M 2019: $425 per tonne), and cost management as part of the Performance Safeguarding Program (PSP).
“In this nine-month period, we have achieved a good result and strictly managed our costs while at the same time benefiting from improved market conditions in the third quarter. However, with its increasing number of cases worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose high risks to the logistics industry and the supply chains of our customers. We will stick to our present course, continue to implement our Strategy 2023, and keep a close eye on the well-being of our employees, the needs of our customers and our operating cost,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd.
Source: Hapag-Lloyd
