Cigna earnings beat by $0.04, revenue topped estimates
Investing.com -- Hapag Lloyd AG (ETR:HLAG) posted an 18.9% drop in net profit for 2024 and proposed cutting its dividend by 11.4% compared to the previous year, citing lower interest income and higher tax expenses.
The container shipping liner’s shares fell more than 4% in European trading as of 08:33 GMT.
Looking ahead, CEO Rolf Habben Jansen warned that key earnings figures for 2025 are expected to come in below 2024 levels, pointing to heightened uncertainty driven by volatile freight rates and geopolitical instability.
“The economic and geopolitical environment remains fragile. In this context, we anticipate earnings in 2025 to be lower than in 2024,” he said.
The company’s net profit declined to €2.4 billion ($2.61 billion) in 2024, down from €2.9 billion the previous year. It proposed a dividend of €8.20 per share, a reduction from €9.25.
Meanwhile, revenue in 2024 rose 6.7% to €19.1 billion, supported by a 5% increase in transport volumes and steady freight rates.
For 2025, Hapag-Lloyd forecasts EBITDA between €2.4 billion and €3.9 billion, down from €4.6 billion in 2024.
EBIT is projected to range from zero to €1.5 billion, compared to €2.6 billion last year.
The company had released preliminary earnings on January 30.