The shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has raised its earnings forecast for 2024 after the first half of the financial year.

The number five in international container shipping announced on Tuesday that the recent strong demand and increased short-term freight rates had exceeded expectations. Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) are now expected to be in the range of EUR 3.2 to 4.2 billion instead of EUR 2.0 to 3.0 billion, while operating earnings (EBIT) are expected to be in the range of EUR 1.2 to 2.2 billion (previously: zero to 1.0 billion). In the first half of the year, the Group posted EBITDA of around EUR 1.8 billion (previous year: EUR 3.5 billion) and EBIT of around EUR 0.8 billion (EUR 2.6 billion).

Due to the volatile freight rates and geopolitical challenges, the forecast is subject to a high degree of uncertainty, explained the company, which is struggling with sharp declines following the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

(Report by Olaf Brenner, edited If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets)