Hapag-Lloyd pleased with 2011 performance
Hapag-Lloyd has announced revenues of €6,103m for 2011, a fall of 1.6% year on year. EBITDA was €367m, down by 59.4%. The company attributed the decline to exchange rate fluctuations and considered its performance an "excellent result in a challenging year", pointing to a 3.2% increase in revenues in US dollars; its main operational currency.
Although the company’s transport volumes increased 5.1% to 5.2m TEU, increased fuel prices hindered the profitability of Hapag-Lloyd’s operations. The average bunker price over the year was $605 per tonne, which was more than $150 per tonne higher than in 2010, an increase of some 34%.
The company stated that these additional energy expenses of around $600m could not be passed on to customers, as some market players resorted to aggressive pricing in the year to gain market share. This was reflected in Hapag-Lloyd’s average freight rate (dollars per TEU transported), which fell by 2.4% to $1,532.
Commenting on Hapag-Lloyd’s performance, Chief Executive Michael Behrendt remarked, "In comparison with the competition this was an excellent result for Hapag-Lloyd in a challenging year. Not only were we the only large liner shipping company to achieve a positive operating result in all four quarters of 2011, but we were also the only market participant to close the second half-year with a group profit after interest and taxes."
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