Germany’s largest container carrier Hapag-Lloyd suffered operating losses of €222m ($302.5m) during the first three months of the year, compared to a operating profit of €18.5m in the previous year.
The carrier’s sales dropped by 22.9% to €1.1bn as freight rates and volumes plummeted, said Rainer Feuerhake, chief financial officer of Tui, the tourism group that sold the majority of Hapag-Lloyd in March.
Tui did not release a separate net loss or profit figures for Hapag-Lloyd.
Tui still owns a stake of 43.3% in Hapag-Lloyd and is thus the single largest shareholder in the line. The carrier’s results for the first quarter were fully consolidated in Tui’s balance sheet for the last time.
Freight rates were down 14.4% on average while volumes declined by 15.0% year-on-year, Mr Feuerhake told analysts today.
Freight rates fell on all routes except the transpacific trades, where they increased slightly by 3.5%. The drop was particularly strong on the Far East route, where rates shrank by 35.9%. Volumes fell on all routes, most of all on Atlantic trades, where the volume of cargo was down by 19.2%.
The group reported a profit of €415.5m in the first quarter, compared to a loss of €278.8m in the corresponding period of 2008. This was due to proceeds from the sale of Hapag-Lloyd. It has already booked gains of €990m from the deal in the first quarter.
The publication of its results came two days before the group’s annual general meeting on Wednesday where John Fredriksen will ask shareholders to support his motions against the management.
Mr Fredriksen, who is Tui largest shareholder, with a 16.8% stake, wants to remove two members from the supervisory board and have him and his confidant Tor Olav Troim elected.
Mr Feuerhake said that Hapag-Lloyd had already initiated a cost-cutting programme and had started to cut capacity by handing chartered vessels back to their owners.
The group’s cruise business, which includes Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and Tui Cruises, reported a small loss of €100,000, compared to €5.9m a year earlier. This was due to initial investments for Tui Cruises.
Mr Feuerhake described the developments of Tui Cruises as stable. He added that he expected the segment to achieve no profit or a very small loss for the year.
Tui wants to expand its Tui Cruises’ fleet to three vessels by 2012 despite the worldwide economic recession, Tui Cruises chief executive Richard Vogel confirmed.
There was no decision yet as to whether the company would order newbuildings or buy second-hand vessels.
The carrier’s sales dropped by 22.9% to €1.1bn as freight rates and volumes plummeted, said Rainer Feuerhake, chief financial officer of Tui, the tourism group that sold the majority of Hapag-Lloyd in March.
Tui did not release a separate net loss or profit figures for Hapag-Lloyd.
Tui still owns a stake of 43.3% in Hapag-Lloyd and is thus the single largest shareholder in the line. The carrier’s results for the first quarter were fully consolidated in Tui’s balance sheet for the last time.
Freight rates were down 14.4% on average while volumes declined by 15.0% year-on-year, Mr Feuerhake told analysts today.
Freight rates fell on all routes except the transpacific trades, where they increased slightly by 3.5%. The drop was particularly strong on the Far East route, where rates shrank by 35.9%. Volumes fell on all routes, most of all on Atlantic trades, where the volume of cargo was down by 19.2%.
The group reported a profit of €415.5m in the first quarter, compared to a loss of €278.8m in the corresponding period of 2008. This was due to proceeds from the sale of Hapag-Lloyd. It has already booked gains of €990m from the deal in the first quarter.
The publication of its results came two days before the group’s annual general meeting on Wednesday where John Fredriksen will ask shareholders to support his motions against the management.
Mr Fredriksen, who is Tui largest shareholder, with a 16.8% stake, wants to remove two members from the supervisory board and have him and his confidant Tor Olav Troim elected.
Mr Feuerhake said that Hapag-Lloyd had already initiated a cost-cutting programme and had started to cut capacity by handing chartered vessels back to their owners.
The group’s cruise business, which includes Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and Tui Cruises, reported a small loss of €100,000, compared to €5.9m a year earlier. This was due to initial investments for Tui Cruises.
Mr Feuerhake described the developments of Tui Cruises as stable. He added that he expected the segment to achieve no profit or a very small loss for the year.
Tui wants to expand its Tui Cruises’ fleet to three vessels by 2012 despite the worldwide economic recession, Tui Cruises chief executive Richard Vogel confirmed.
There was no decision yet as to whether the company would order newbuildings or buy second-hand vessels.