Revenues down by -16.8%
For Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, the positive impact seems to be archived
on earnings driven by the latest economic cycle in the
containerized sea freight that has been
characterized by the increase in the value of freight rates stimulated
mainly from the effects of Houthi attacks on ships
in the Red Sea region that began at the end of 2023 and also
from the restrictions on transits in the Panama Canal, a phase that has
following the best ever shipping business cycle
started in 2020 as a result of the effects of the
on the demand of the COVID-19 pandemic and which has ended
during 2023.
Hapag-Lloyd, like all other major airlines
navigation of the sector, has followed the ups and downs of these
cycles, with the second being for the German company
concluded in the last quarter of 2023 when the value of the
net economic result was negative and with the
first which for Hapag-Lloyd ended in the first quarter of
2026 when a leak was recorded again
operating equipment.
After two quarters of decline, the first three months of 2026 saw the
the decline in Hapag-Lloyd’s revenues was accentuated, which in the period
amounted to €4.20 billion, with a decrease of
-16.8% over the same period in 2025. In the segment of the
containerized maritime transport revenues totaled 4.08
billion euros (-17.7%) and in that of port terminals and
related logistics services €143.7 million (+38.2%). The
EBITDA was €421.8 million
(-59.8%), with a contribution of €382.1 million from the container segment
(-62.3%) and 40.5 million from that of terminals (+20.2%). The
operating result was negative and equal to -133.5
million euro compared to a profit of 463.0 million in the period
January-March of 2025. Hapag-Lloyd closed the first quarter of
2026 with a net loss of -€218.6 million compared to a profit
net of €445.9 million in the same period last year.
In the first three months of 2026, the Shipyard’s container fleet
company transported 3.20 million containerized cargoes
of TEUs, a volume that from this year the company calculates on the
Base of transport orders after the arrival of containers at the port
of load, whereas previously it was calculated on the basis of the
shipments completed, and which represents a decrease of -0.7%
on the first quarter of 2025. In the period, the average value of freight rates was
result equal to 1,330 /teu (-9.6%). In the first quarter of
this year on the Asia-Europe routes only, the company’s ships
They transported 919 thousand TEUs (-2.5%) and in this market the value
average freight rates were $,/TEU (-6.5%). I
Asia-America liner services carried 1.19 million TEUs
(+0.7%) and the corresponding average freight rate was
1,341 /teu (-15.9%). On the Europe-America routes, traffic
handled was 613 thousand TEUs (-10.1%) and the
Corresponding average freight rate was $,/TEU
(-5,8%). On the routes with Africa and on the intra-regional routes,
428 thousand TEUs (+15.0%) were transported and in this market freight
was 1,280 /TEU (+0.2%).
The CEO of the German company, Rolf Habben
Jansen, highlighted that the first quarter of 2026 is not
satisfactory state for Hapag-Lloyd, stressing that in the period
there have been “supply chain disruptions due to
weather conditions and freight pressures that have
led to significantly lower results”. Referring
to the vessel sharing agreement with the Danish Maersk called Gemini
Cooperation, Habben Jansen pointed out that “our
Gemini network has proven its resilience even in
difficult, helping us to maintain reliable service for our customers.
our customers”. The company’s CEO recalled that
Hapag-Lloyd, among the current priorities, has the completion of the
of the merger agreement with the Israeli ZIM
(
of 16
and 16
February 2026).
