Hapag-Lloyd Reports 2023 Results and Sets Outlook for Challenging Market Conditions

Hapag-Lloyd AG announced its 2023 annual financial results today, marking the third-best performance in the company's history, with a proposed dividend of EUR 9.25 per share. Despite a significant earnings drop from the previous year, the shipping giant achieved a Group EBITDA of USD 4.8 billion and a Group profit of USD 3.2 billion. CEO Rolf Habben Jansen highlighted substantial achievements in customer satisfaction, digitalization, expansion in Terminal & Infrastructure, and reduction in carbon footprint towards net-zero carbon by 2045.

The Liner Shipping segment witnessed slight growth, with transport volumes edging up by 0.5% to 11.9 million TEU. This was against a backdrop of a substantial decrease in transport expenses by 11% and revenues falling to USD 19.2 billion due to a slump in the average freight rate.

The recently formed Terminal & Infrastructure segment reported EBITDA and EBIT of USD 50 million and USD 21 million respectively, with revenues standing at USD 202 million. This segment is still evolving and reflects partial year results.

Based on these results, Hapag-Lloyd's boards propose a dividend of EUR 9.25 per share for 2023, totaling EUR 1.6 billion. Looking ahead to 2024, the company forecasts an EBITDA range of USD 1.1 to 3.3 billion and expresses caution due to a volatile economic and political climate, promising a focus on quality, sustainability, and operational efficiency in line with its Strategy 2030.