Hapag-Lloyd first half profit way down, stresses market strength

STORY: Hapag-Lloyd posted a 75% lower net profit for the first half of the year on Wednesday (August 14).

It hit close to $804.5 million in the six months - down from more than $3 billion a year earlier.

But the German container firm focused on a higher full-year earnings outlook and stressed its market strength.

CEO Rolf Habben Jansen called the first half "very good" due to strong demand and better spot rates.

He further said Hapag-Lloyd had added new ships and containers to meet higher capacity requirements due to the security situation in the Red Sea.

Since November, Yemen-based Houthi militants have hurt global trade by forcing ship owners to avoid the popular Suez Canal trade shortcut after a number of attacks.

Looking ahead, Hapag-Lloyd expects earnings before tax to reach up to $4.62 billion.

But it said the outlook was subject to a high degree of uncertainty due to volatile freight rates and geopolitical challenges.

Company shares were down more than 3% as of Wednesday afternoon.