Hapag-Lloyd said nine-month profits fell as global trade disputes led to uneven demand and reduced shipping rates.
While overall revenue at the German ocean liner rose to $16.05 billion from $15.28 billion in the same period last year, group profit fell to $946 million from $1.83 billion.
“In the third quarter of 2025, revenue improved compared to the second quarter, but remained significantly lower than a year earlier due to lower freight rates and upward pressure on costs,” the company (HLAG.DE) said in a statement.
Lower group earnings before tax (EBITDA) and operating profit (EBIT) reduced profit margins to 17 and 6 percent, respectively, from 24 and 13 percent last year.
Liner shipping revenue rose to $15.7 billion from $14.9 billion in the year, with freight volume improving 9 percent to 10.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) from 9.3 million TEU, largely due to growth in east-west trade.
Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk (MAERSK-B.CO) inaugurate the Gemini Shared Services Alliance in 2025. This contribution contributed to a 19.2% growth in ex-Asia volume.
But the world’s fifth-largest container shipping company said EBITDA and EBIT margins fell to 15.5 percent and 4 percent, respectively. Maersk reported margins of 19.5% and 6.2% in the most recent quarter, respectively. The operator said: “Transmission and network setup costs for Gemini and costs related to congestion in different parts of the world were marginalized.”
The average freight rate was $1,397 per TEU, down 4.8 percent from $1,467 a year earlier on volume of 6.1 percent. In comparison, global volume improved by 3.7 percent in the third quarter.
Hapag-Lloyd lowered its full-year EBITDA forecast range to $3.1 billion to $3.6 billion and EBIT to $600 million to $1.1 billion.
Find more articles by Stuart Charleshere.
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