Hapag-Lloyd more than doubled operating profit to $23.2 million from $9.6 million in last year’s first quarter as revenue grew 16.5 percent to $2.1 billion. But the taxes and interest payments pushed the operation into the red.
Average freight rates grew 10 percent to $1,563 per 20-foot-equivalent unit and cargo volume increased 2 percent to 1.2 million TEUs.
“Given the prevailing conditions, we achieved a good result,” said Michael Behrendt, chairman of Hapag-Lloyd’s Executive Board.