Hapag-Lloyd has released its annual report, showing a slight increase in the operating result for 2024. Group EBITDA rose to $5 billion, while Group EBIT improved marginally compared to the previous year, reaching $2.8 billion. However, the Group's profit fell to $2.6 billion, primarily due to decreased interest income and increased tax expenses.

"In a challenging market environment, we achieved solid results and increased customer satisfaction. We have further consolidated and expanded our terminal business under Hanseatic Global Terminals. Our efforts to improve processes will yield benefits in the coming years, and we have intensified our investments in digitalization and employee training. Additionally, we launched the largest shipbuilding program in our company’s history, which will enable us to modernize and decarbonize our fleet," stated Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG.

In the Liner segment, transport volumes increased by 4.7% in 2024, totaling 12.5 million TEU (2023: 11.9 million TEU), while the average freight rate remained stable at USD 1,492/TEU (2023: USD 1,500/TEU). Consequently, revenues grew to $20.3 billion. Despite rising transport costs due to necessary rerouting to the Cape of Good Hope, EBITDA increased to $4.9 billion, with EBIT remaining unchanged from the previous year at $2.7 billion.

The Terminals & Infrastructure segment saw an improvement in EBITDA for FY 2024, increasing to $151 million, largely due to several acquisitions made during the prior financial year. EBIT also rose to $72 million.

Based on these results, the Executive and Supervisory Boards of Hapag-Lloyd AG will propose a dividend of EUR 8.20 per share for the 2024 financial year at the Annual General Meeting. This translates to a total payout of EUR 1.4 billion, reaffirming Hapag-Lloyd shares as one of the most attractive dividend stocks in Germany.

For the financial year 2025, the Executive Board anticipates Group EBITDA to range between $2.5 billion and $4 billion. This forecast is subject to significant uncertainty due to freight rate volatility and major geopolitical challenges.

"We are off to a strong start in 2025 with Gemini, but the economic and geopolitical environment remains fragile. Consequently, we expect earnings in 2025 to be lower than in 2024. In the first half of this year, we will implement our Gemini network and aim to set new standards for schedule reliability. We will continue to develop Hanseatic Global Terminals and expect further growth in our land-based business. At the same time, we will closely monitor our unit costs and focus on becoming even more efficient and environmentally friendly," Jansen added.

Related articles: Port of Oakland container volume up 8.5%