Hapag-Lloyd revenues up to USD 36.4 billion in 2022
Hapag-Lloyd today published its annual report for 2022, the year of its 175th anniversary. According to the report, Hapag-Lloyd’s EBITDA increased to USD 20.5 billion (EUR 19.4 billion). EBIT grew to USD 18.5 billion (EUR 17.5 billion), and the Group profit improved to USD 18 billion (EUR 17 billion), according to the company's release.
Revenues increased to USD 36.4 billion (EUR 34.5 billion). This can mainly be attributed to an increase in the average freight rate, to 2,863 USD/TEU (2021: 2,003 USD/TEU). However, already by the end of the year, the freight rate had significantly decreased due to easing congestion in ports and lower demand. Transport volumes remained on a par with the prior-year level, at 11.8 million TEU (2021: 11.9 million TEU), due to the strained supply chains. At the same time, high inflation was clearly noticeable in the per-unit costs. Transport expenses rose by 18.5 percent, to USD 14.5 billion (EUR 13.7 billion).
Due to the strong Group profit, equity has grown to EUR 28 billion and the equity ratio has risen to over 70 percent. For these reasons, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board of Hapag-Lloyd AG have decided to propose to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend of EUR 63 per share be paid out for the 2022 financial year – which corresponds to a total payout of EUR 11.1 billion.
Hapag-Lloyd expects earnings to gradually normalise in the current 2023 financial year. EBITDA is expected to be in the range of USD 4.3 to 6.5 billion (EUR 4 to 6 billion) and EBIT to be in the range of USD 2.1 to 4.3 billion (EUR 2 to 4 billion). However, this forecast remains subject to considerable uncertainty given the ongoing war in Ukraine and other geopolitical conflicts as well as the impacts of high inflation.
