Hapag-Lloyd has published its annual report for the fiscal year 2025, in which the German shipping company recorded a group EBITDA of 3.6 billion dollars (3.2 billion euros), an EBIT of 1.1 billion dollars (1 billion euros) and a net profit of 1 billion dollars (900 million euros). The results were at the higher end of the forecast range, although below the previous year due to falling freight rates and rising operational costs. The Board of Directors will propose to the General Shareholders' Meeting a dividend of 3 euros per share, equivalent to a total payout of 500 million euros.
In the regular line segment, revenues reached 20.6 billion dollars (18.3 billion euros) in 2025. Transport volumes grew by 8% to 13.5 million TEUs, supported by the rollout of the Gemini network, the operational alliance with Maersk based on a hub-and-spoke model which, according to the company, has achieved a 90% route reliability and a record in customer satisfaction. However, the average freight rate fell by 8% to 1,376 dollars per TEU, pressured by the increase in available capacity in the market and growing trade imbalances between the main routes.
Operational costs were increased by disruptions arising from the new tariff policies, security tensions in the Red Sea, the costs of rolling out the Gemini network, and port congestion. However, cost savings linked to the new network began to materialize in the second half of the year, and according to Hapag-Lloyd, they are expected to be fully realized in 2026, when the company anticipates generating over 1 billion dollars annually in savings.
The terminals and infrastructure segment raised its revenues to 514 million dollars (455 million euros), driven by the acquisition and rollout of new terminals and by growing synergies with the regular line business. The EBITDA of the segment remained stable at 152 million dollars, while the EBIT fell to 66 million due to startup costs and operational challenges.
The publication of the annual accounts coincided with the outbreak of the crisis in the Middle East as the main factor of uncertainty for the maritime transportation sector in 2026. Hapag-Lloyd's CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen, estimated during a conference with investors the impact of the situation to be additional costs of between 40 and 50 million dollars per week for the shipping company, mainly arising from rising bunker costs, but also from increases in insurance premiums and storage and land transportation costs on certain routes.
The crisis, triggered by the joint military operations of the United States and Israel against Iran and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Tehran, has forced Hapag-Lloyd to suspend all transits through the waterway, limit bookings originating from and destined for the Upper Gulf area, and divert vessels to alternative routes. The shipping company maintains connections between Asia and the Middle East through alternative ports such as Salalah (Oman) and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). Currently, six Hapag-Lloyd vessels with a combined capacity of about 25,000 TEUs remain stranded in the Gulf region unable to transit the strait for security reasons.
To address the sudden increase in costs, the company has introduced emergency and contingency surcharges. Habben Jansen explained that nearly all long-term contracts of Hapag-Lloyd include fuel adjustment clauses, but these mechanisms operate with a lag of several months, which necessitates immediate surcharges that are later offset with the regular adjustment formulas. The CEO dismissed it as double billing to the customer.
For the 2026 fiscal year, Hapag-Lloyd anticipates a group EBITDA in the range of 1.1 to 3.1 billion dollars (900 to 2.6 billion euros) and an EBIT between -1.5 and 500 million dollars. The company expects results for the first quarter to be affected by extraordinary costs, adverse weather conditions that impacted Europe early in the year, and the impact of the crisis in the Middle East. However, Habben Jansen noted that underlying demand remains strong and that cost reduction programs will continue to ease pressure on the accounts throughout the year.
The German shipping company also maintains its growth trajectory with the expansion of its terminal portfolio under the Hanseatic Global Terminals brand and is working on completing its merger agreement with ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, whose regulatory approval in Israel could be slightly delayed due to the conflict, although it is still anticipated for late 2026.