Hapag-Lloyd has closed the second quarter of 2026 with a recovery in its results compared to the first three months of the year, supported by an increase in transported volumes and spot rates. The German group obtained an EBITDA of 829 million dollars (712 million euros), slightly higher than that recorded in the same period of 2025, although EBIT and net profit remained below the levels of the past year.
The group's EBIT was between April and June at 176 million dollars (150 million euros), while the profit reached 83 million dollars (71 million euros). The quarterly evolution has occurred after a start to the year affected by operational disruptions and costs associated with the situation in the Middle East.
According to Hapag-Lloyd, exports from Asia and the improvement in US demand favored the performance of volumes and spot freight during the second quarter. This evolution allowed for partial compensation of additional costs close to 600 million dollars arising from the conflict in the Middle East.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the end of February has generated additional expenses related to fuel, insurance, storage, service modifications, and land transportation. These circumstances were compounded by the meteorological disruptions recorded at the beginning of the year and particularly affected the maritime transport business.
In Liner Shipping, revenue reached 5.7 billion dollars (4.9 billion euros) during the second quarter. The transported volumes increased to 3.5 million TEUs, compared to 3.4 million in the same period of 2025.
The average transportation rate was 1,475 dollars per TEU, 9% more than the 1,354 dollars per TEU recorded a year earlier. Despite the increase in volumes and freight rates, the segment's EBITDA fell to 773 million dollars (664 million euros) and EBIT was 153 million dollars (131 million euros), mainly due to extraordinary costs linked to the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The recovery in the second quarter has not fully compensated for the performance of the first months of the year. In the overall first half, Hapag-Lloyd recorded revenues of 9.221 billion euros, compared to 9.685 billion in the same period of 2025. EBITDA decreased from 1.759 billion to 1.134 billion euros and EBIT dropped from 619 million to 16 million.
The accumulated net result between January and June was negative at 148 million euros, compared to the profit of 709 million obtained during the first half of the previous year. The transported volume, on the contrary, increased by 1.5% to 6.68 million TEUs, while the average rate for the semester remained practically stable at 1,406 dollars per TEU compared to 1,411 dollars a year earlier.
The company maintains a fleet of 300 container ships with a total capacity of 2.46 million TEUs as of the end of June. Its order book includes another 32 vessels with a total capacity of 349,000 TEUs, whose deliveries are planned until 2029.
Hapag-Lloyd has also highlighted the operational performance of Gemini Cooperation, the network that operates jointly with Maersk on major East-West traffic. The company considers that the system has maintained a high reliability of the itineraries despite the operational difficulties recorded during the period. As of June 30, Hapag-Lloyd's global network included 129 services.
The Terminal & Infrastructure area has maintained a different evolution from that of maritime transport. Its revenues reached 191 million dollars (165 million euros) during the second quarter, boosted by the complete consolidation for the first time of the container terminal business from J M Baxi and by the growth of volumes in Latin America.
The EBITDA of this division increased to 55 million dollars (47 million euros), while EBIT was at 21 million dollars (18 million euros). In the overall first half, its revenues rose to 308 million euros, compared to 223 million a year earlier, and EBITDA increased from 72 to 88 million.
Terminal activity has gained weight within the group's strategy. In February, the new container terminal in Damietta, Egypt, began operations, in which Hapag-Lloyd participates indirectly with 39%. The facility is primarily oriented towards transshipment and has a planned capacity of up to 3.3 million TEUs.
Through Hanseatic Global Terminals, the group is also developing a new container terminal in Aracruz, Brazil, in collaboration with Imetame Group, with planned service entry in mid-2028. Additionally, at the end of June, the main terms of a possible acquisition of 20% of Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg were agreed, and it was proposed to raise the stake in the TC3 terminal at the port of Tangier from 10% to 20%.
After the results of the second quarter and market developments, Hapag-Lloyd revised its forecasts for the entire year of 2026 on July 13. The company now expects EBITDA to be between 2.7 billion and 3.7 billion dollars, equivalent to between 2.3 billion and 3.2 billion euros. The previous estimate in euros was between 900 million and 2.6 billion.
The EBIT forecast is now between 100 million and 1.1 billion dollars, equivalent to between 100 million and 1 billion euros. Previously, the group contemplated a range of between -1.3 billion and 400 million euros.
Hapag-Lloyd, however, maintains a high degree of uncertainty regarding these forecasts due to the volatility of freight rates and the evolution of the conflict in the Middle East. At the close of the first half, the group had a liquidity reserve of 5.2 billion euros and had generated a free cash flow of 846 million, compared to 655 million recorded during the same period of 2025.
