German container transport company Hapag-Lloyd thinks that this year’s growth will be affected by the impact of the corona pandemic. The shipping company expects demand for container transport to fall due to lower economic activity. For the ultimate damage, the container giant still has a big battle to win.
The beginning of 2020 went “reasonably”, according to Hapag-Lloyd. The recovery from the first wave of the coronavirus in Asia is progressing faster than expected. On the other hand, the spread of lung disease on other continents will have a “significant” effect. The company now estimates that the financial headwind due to the corona pandemic will mainly affect the results in the first half of this year. The group emphasizes that the uncertainty is still very high because the duration of the pandemic is difficult to predict.
Hapag-Lloyd estimates that the operating result (EBIT) will be between EUR 500 million and EUR 1 billion this year. In the past year, the shipping company increased its profit by 360 percent to 373 million euros. The strong performance was due to higher volumes, higher rates for container transport and cost savings. In addition, Hapag-Lloyd brought down its debts last year.
Maurice Esma, a co-founder of EconomicInform is a freelance journalist with the expertise in international finance and corporate rights. The author can be reached by email maurice.eisma@economicinform.com
