Shipping: "Hapag-Lloyd Nearly Doubles H1 Profit"

From Reuters via Maritime Logistics Professional:

German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd nearly doubled net profit in the first half of 2020 and kept its full-year outlook intact but warned that the coronavirus crisis bears indiscernible risks for its operations.

"We have not put the pandemic behind us. Compared to a normal situation, customers' booking behaviour is volatile," Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen told Reuters.

Transport volumes at Hapag-Lloyd, the world's number five in the industry, were down 3.5% year-on-year at 5.8 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEU).

Habben Jansen said those volumes were recovering but were unlikely to reach their 2019 level this year as economies worldwide have contracted amid lockdowns.

Net profit between January and June soared by 95% to 285 million euros ($336.78 million) versus 146 million euros in comparable 2019....MUCH MORE