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Hapag-Lloyd says quality, sustainability, staff safety and wellbeing are the highest priority after reaping extraordinarily strong 2022 group profit
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The German shipping giant proposes a €63 per share dividend payout
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The company expects its results’ gradual return to normal as cloud of uncertainty looms due to the Ukraine war, other geopolitical conflicts and high inflation
Hapag-Lloyd will give top priority to quality and sustainability as well as the safety and wellbeing of its staff after an exceptionally strong 2022 that confirms unaudited figures the German shipping giant announced in January.
The company said in a report on March 2 that it marked its 175th anniversary in 2022 with EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) rising 59.4% to US$20.5 billion (€19.4 billion). EBIT grew 66.7% to $18.5 billion (€17.5 billion), it said.
Hapag-Lloyd Group said group profit improved to $18 billion (€17 billion) in 2022, from $10.75 billion in 2021.
As a result, the company said it will propose to shareholders in the annual general meeting a dividend of €63 per share for the 2022 financial year, amounting to a total payout of €11.1 billion.
“Overall, we look back on a very successful 2022 with exceptionally strong results. This has enabled us to strengthen our financial resilience and asset structure once again,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, chief executive of Hapag-Lloyd AG.
“In addition, we have improved the quality of service for our customers and invested in terminals and infrastructure as well as in the efficiency of our fleet. However, costs – such as for fuel, charter vessels and container handling – have risen significantly,” said Jansen.
Revenues rose to $36.4 billion, which Hapag-Lloyd attributed to an increase in the average freight rate to $2,863 per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) from $2,003 /TEU in 2021.
By the end of the year, rates had fallen significantly due to easing congestion in ports and lower demand. Transport volume was 11.8 million TEUs, on par with the 11.9 million TEUs in 2021, due to the strained supply chains.
High inflation was clearly noticeable in the per-unit costs, the company said. Transport expenses rose 18.5% to $14.5 billion.
Hapag-Lloyd said the group’s exceptionally strong profit led to equity growing to €28 billion and the equity ratio rising to more than 70%.
Hapag-Lloyd said it expects earnings to gradually normalize in the 2023 financial year. EBITDA is expected to range between $4.3 billion and $6.5 billion. EBIT is forecast to be between $2.1 billion and $4.3 billion.
However, a cloud of uncertainty hangs above these forecasts due to the war in Ukraine and other geopolitical conflicts as well as the impacts of high inflation, the company said.
“We have got the current financial year off to a decent start, but the economy has cooled and a significant decrease in earnings remains inevitable. So we will continue to act flexibly in the market and keep a close eye on our costs,” Jansen said in a statement.
“In addition, we will be working very intensively on formulating the strategic course that we will pursue until 2030. Quality and sustainability will continue to have the highest priority for us, as will the safety and well-being of our employees.”
Hapag-Lloyd has around 14,200 employees manning its fleet of 251 modern container ships and more than 400 offices worldwide.
The ocean shipping operator has a total transport capacity of 1.8 million TEUs, making it one of the world’s leading liner shipping companies.
