German container shipping group Hapag-Lloyd has reported a rise in Q3 net profit to €8.2m ($8.8m), up from €3.2m in the same period last year. It said that it would move ahead with plans to cut costs and seek economies of scale to cope with what it described as “the worst downturn the industry has ever seen”.
“The market has been very difficult so far this year, but in that environment, Hapag-Lloyd has performed relatively well, which underlines our competitiveness,” said CEO Rolf Habben Jansen, adding that “our main focus for the upcoming quarters will be to further optimize our cost position.”
Hapag-Lloyd transported 5.65m TEUs in the first nine months of the year, up 1.3% year on year, but the average freight rate fell by 17.7%.