Financial News

Net profit of EUR 8.2 million in Q3 / Positive operating result after nine months / Transport volume up 1.3% / Average freight rate decreases by 17.7% / Transport expenses reduced by 14.2% / Main focus going forward on further cost optimization, start of THE Alliance and completion of transaction with UASC

Hapag-Lloyd closed the third quarter with a net profit of EUR 8.2 million (previous year: EUR 3.2 million) and an operating result (EBIT) of EUR 65.6 million (previous year: EUR 80.9 million). Hapag-Lloyd was able to generate a positive operating result of EUR 25.9 million in the first nine months of 2016.

"The market has been very difficult so far this year, but in that environment Hapag-Lloyd has performed relatively well, which underlines our competitiveness, and we are pleased to report a net profit in the third quarter" said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd. "The overall results so far this year remain unsatisfactory, but the net profit in Q3 indicates that we are on the right track and that our efforts to further reduce costs and to leverage economies of scale are paying off. Our main focus for the upcoming quarters will be to further optimize our cost position, ensure a smooth implementation of THE Alliance and to complete the transaction with UASC, to further solidify our position in this consolidating industry'', said Rolf Habben Jansen.

In the first nine months of 2016, Hapag-Lloyd transported a total of 5.65 million TEU, around 1.3% more than in the prior year period. The average freight rate fell sharply, decreasing by 17.7% year on year in the period from January to September to

USD 1,037/TEU. The decline was partly due to a fall in bunker prices compared with the previous year, but also due to prevailing overcapacity in the main trades combined with modest demand growth. Hapag-Lloyd's average bunker consumption price came to USD 195/tonne in the first nine months of 2016, and was thereby USD 138 below the previous year's figure.

The substantially lower rate level had a noticeable impact on the Company's revenue of EUR 5.7 billion in the first nine months of 2016, which was approx. EUR 1.1 billion down on the previous year. At the same time transport expenses also fell considerably by EUR 787.7 million, or 14.2%, to just under EUR 4.8 billion in the same period. EBITDA came to EUR 381.3 million in the first nine months of 2016 (previous year: EUR 690.6 million), while EBIT totalled EUR 25.9 million (previous year: EUR 348.6 million). The net result of EUR -133.9 million for the first nine months was dominated by the disappointing result development in the first two quarters of the current year.

As at 30 September 2016, Hapag-Lloyd had an equity ratio of 44.6% and a liquidity reserve totalling EUR 559.2 million.

SUMMARY OF HAPAG-LLOYD KEY FIGURES

About Hapag-Lloyd

With a fleet of 166 modern container ships and a total transport capacity of 953,000 TEU, Hapag-Lloyd is one of the world's leading liner shipping companies. The Company has around 9,400 employees at 366 sites in 121 countries. Hapag-Lloyd has a container capacity of 1.5 million TEU - including one of the largest and most modern fleets of reefer containers. A total of 125 liner services worldwide ensure fast, reliable connections between all the continents. Hapag-Lloyd is one of the leading operators in the Transatlantic, Latin America and Intra-America trades.