Earnings recovery in Q2 despite substantial cost headwinds

In Q2 of 2026, the shipping company Hapag-Lloyd reported a modest improvement in earnings despite facing significant cost pressures. The Group EBITDA reached USD 829 million (EUR 712 million), up from USD 733 million (EUR 630 million) in the same period last year, while Group EBIT decreased to USD 176 million (EUR 150 million), down from USD 154 million (EUR 132 million) previously. Profit for the quarter fell to USD 83 million (EUR 71 million) from USD 77 million (EUR 66 million) a year earlier.

The better results were mainly attributable to stronger exports from Asia and increased demand in the United States, which helped to offset the substantial cost headwinds of around USD 600 million. These costs were mainly due to the conflict in the Middle East, affecting the company's operations through higher bunker and insurance expenses, storage costs, service rerouting, and inland transportation.

In the Liner Shipping segment, revenues rose to USD 5.7 billion (EUR 4.9 billion) in Q2 2026, driven by higher transport volumes of 3.5 million TEU (up from 3.4 million TEU in Q2 2025) and an average freight rate that increased by 9% year-over-year to USD 1,475 per TEU (compared to USD 1,354 per TEU in Q2 2025). However, EBITDA for this segment declined to USD 773 million (EUR 664 million) and EBIT to USD 153 million (EUR 131 million), mainly due to the additional costs associated with the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.

On the Terminal & Infrastructure side, revenues increased to USD 191 million (EUR 165 million), supported by the full consolidation of J M Baxi's container business and robust volume growth in Latin America. EBITDA rose to USD 55 million (EUR 47 million) and EBIT to USD 21 million (EUR 18 million).

Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen attributed the Q2 performance to the strong spot rates and robust demand, noting that the company's Gemini network continued to outperform the market in terms of schedule reliability. He also highlighted the growing strategic relevance of the terminal business, driven by strong throughput and ongoing investment in new assets.

Looking ahead, the company expects full-year 2026 earnings to range between USD 2.7 billion and USD 3.7 billion (EUR 2.3 billion and EUR 3.2 billion) for Group EBITDA, and between USD 0.1 billion and USD 1.1 billion (EUR 0.1 billion and EUR 1.0 billion) for Group EBIT. However, these projections remain highly uncertain due to the volatile freight rates and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.