November 14 - Hapag-Lloyd has closed the third quarter of 2016 with a net profit of EUR8.2 million (USD8.7 million), compared with EUR3.2 million (USD3.4 million) in the same period of 2015.
The Hamburg headquartered container shipping line posted an operating result (EBIT) of EUR65.6 million (USD70.2 million) in the reporting period, compared with EUR80.9 million (USD86.6 million) in the same period of last year.
"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."
In the first nine months of 2016, Hapag-Lloyd transported a total of 5.65 million teu, around 1.3 percent more than in the first nine months of 2015. The average freight rate fell sharply, decreasing by 17.7 percent year-on-year during the first nine months.
Hapag-Lloyd attributed the freight rate decline partly to a fall in bunker prices, but also to "prevailing overcapacity" in the main trades combined with modest demand growth.
