Hapag-Lloyd lowers 2025 earnings forecast, seeks savings
CEO Rolf Habben Jansen told analysts that start-up spending on its Gemini cooperation with competitor Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), opens new tab, fidgety customers amid changing U.S. trade policies, and virtual closure of the Suez Canal weighed on profits.
"The Gemini transition cost was a three-million dollar digit figure," said Habben Jansen in a call with analysts, adding port congestions amid tariff to and fro, as well as costly alternatives to the Suez route had also led to spiralling costs.
"A 1 billion euros (savings programme) is realistic to (be achieved) by the end of next year," he added.
Houthi militant attacks on vessel owners in the Middle East forced shippers to avoid the region.
Germany's Hapag-Lloyd, the world's fifth-largest shipping firm, earlier projected full-year earnings before interest and taxes ranging between 200 million euros and 1.1 billion euros, compared with a previously expected range of breakeven to 1.5 billion euros.
Core profit was 24% lower at 619 million euros in the six months at the German company.
Its stock in a small free float was 7.2% down at 1100 GMT.
Net income in the first half fell 3.1% to 709 million euros ($829 million) while revenues were up 10% at 9.7 billion euros and transport volumes grew 10.6% to 6.7 million 20-foot-equivalent (TEU) containers.
Gemini brings synergies from a network of 340 ships on seven trade corridors, which will begin to pay off from the second half of 2025, Habben Jansen said.
But inflation, higher prices of shipyards, carbon permits and cleaner fuels could not be argued away.
($1 = 0.8549 euros)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
22 minutes ago
- Reuters
'No deal until there's a deal': Trump-Putin talks yield no breakthrough on Ukraine
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Aug 15 (Reuters) - A highly anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday yielded no agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine, though both leaders described the talks as productive. During a brief appearance before the media following the nearly three-hour meeting in Alaska, the two leaders said they had made progress on unspecified issues. But they offered no details and took no questions, with the normally loquacious Trump ignoring shouted questions from reporters. "We've made some headway," Trump said, standing in front of a backdrop that read, "Pursuing Peace." "There's no deal until there's a deal," he added. The talks did not initially appear to have produced meaningful steps toward a ceasefire in the deadliest conflict in Europe in 80 years, a goal Trump had set ahead of the summit. But simply sitting down face-to-face with the U.S. president represented a victory for Putin, who had been ostracized by Western leaders since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Following the summit, Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity that he would hold off on imposing tariffs on China for buying Russian oil after making progress with Putin. He has targeted India, another major buyer of Russian crude, with an additional 25% tariff on U.S. imports. "Because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that now," Trump said of Chinese tariffs. "I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now." Trump has also threatened sanctions on Moscow but has thus far not followed through, even after Putin ignored a Trump-imposed ceasefire deadline earlier this month. In the Fox News interview, Trump also suggested a meeting would now be set up between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which he might also attend. He gave no further details on who was organizing the meeting or when it might be. Putin made no mention of meeting Zelenskiy when speaking to reporters earlier. He said he expected Ukraine and its European allies to accept the results of the U.S.-Russia negotiation constructively and not try to "disrupt the emerging progress." He also repeated Moscow's long-held position that what Russia claims to be the "root causes" of the conflict must be eliminated to reach a long-term peace, a sign he remains resistant to a ceasefire. There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv to the summit, the first meeting between Putin and a U.S. president since the war began. When asked by Hannity what he would advise Zelenskiy, Trump said, "Gotta make a deal." "Look, Russia is a very big power, and they're not," Trump added. The war has killed or injured well over a million people from both sides, including thousands of mostly Ukrainian civilians, according to analysts. Zelenskiy has ruled out formally handing Moscow any territory and is also seeking a security guarantee backed by the United States. Trump said he would call Zelenskiy and NATO leaders to update them on the Alaska talks. As the two leaders were talking, the war raged on, with most eastern Ukrainian regions under air raid alerts. Governors of Russia's Rostov and Bryansk regions reported that some of their territories were under Ukrainian drone attacks. Ukraine's opposition lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko said on the Telegram messaging app, "It seems Putin has bought himself more time. No ceasefire or de-escalation has been agreed upon." The anticlimactic end to the closely watched summit was in stark contrast to the pomp and circumstance with which it began. When Putin arrived at an Air Force base in Alaska, a red carpet awaited him, where Trump greeted Putin warmly as U.S. military aircraft flew overhead. Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court, accused of the war crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Russia denies the allegations, and the Kremlin has dismissed the ICC warrant as null and void. Russia and the United States are not members of the court. The day before the summit, Putin held out the prospect of something Trump wants - a new nuclear arms control agreement to replace the last surviving one, which is due to expire in February. It was unclear if the issue was discussed on Friday. Zelenskiy, who was not invited to Alaska, and his European allies had feared Trump might sell out Ukraine by essentially freezing the conflict and recognizing - if only informally - Russian control over one-fifth of Ukraine. Trump had sought to assuage such concerns on Friday ahead of the talks, saying he would let Ukraine decide on any possible territorial concessions. "I'm not here to negotiate for Ukraine, I'm here to get them at a table," he said. Asked what would make the meeting a success, he told reporters: "I want to see a ceasefire rapidly ... I'm not going to be happy if it's not today ... I want the killing to stop." The meeting also included U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Trump's special envoy to Russia, Steve Witkoff; Russian foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov; and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Trump, who said during his presidential campaign that he would end the Ukraine war within 24 hours, conceded on Thursday it had proven a tougher task than he had expected. He had said if Friday's talks went well, quickly arranging a second, three-way summit with Zelenskiy would be more important than his encounter with Putin. Trump ended his remarks on Friday by telling Putin, "I'd like to thank you very much, and we'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon." "Next time in Moscow," Putin responded. Trump said he might "get a little heat on that one" but that he could "possibly see it happening." Zelenskiy said ahead of Friday's summit that the meeting should open the way for a "just peace" and three-way talks that included him, but added that Russia was continuing to wage war. "It's time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Investors react to US-Russia summit reaching no agreement
NEW YORK, Aug 15 (Reuters) - A highly anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday yielded no agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine, despite both leaders describing the talks in Alaska as productive. During a brief appearance before the media following the nearly three-hour talks, the two leaders said they had made progress on unspecified issues. But they offered no details and took no questions, with the normally loquacious Trump ignoring shouted questions from reporters. "There were many, many points that we agreed on. I would say a couple of big ones that we haven't quite got there, but we've made some headway," Trump said, standing in front of a backdrop that read, "Pursuing Peace." COMMENTS: HELIMA CROFT, GLOBAL HEAD OF COMMODITY STRATEGY AT RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, NEW YORK: "It seems to be the scenario that we anticipated in our note. Soundbites signaling diplomatic progress but few concrete deal specifics. We will watching to see whether the 'too be continued' outcome is enough to table the secondary sanctions on India for continuing to import Russian oil. Certainly will fall short of anything that will convince the Europeans to consider vacating their Russian energy sanctions." CAROL SCHLEIF, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, BMO PRIVATE WEALTH, MINNEAPOLIS: "The only news was absolutely no news out of it. Not sure there will be any market impactful portions - geopolitical issues in general do not tend to preoccupy market attention for very long if at all." "Markets are at new highs despite this conflict going on for three years. Markets care more about consumers, inflation and commentary from Wyoming next week." ERIC TEAL, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, COMERICA, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: "The fact that there were no economic sanctions is a positive and markets should breathe a sigh of relief, but it doesn't appear as though a deal is in hand." "If anything, we see opportunity in the energy sector, as oil prices are at pretty low levels here and the prospect of sanctions on oil did not bear out. There could be a relief rally and that would be an opportunity to invest in energy as we head into higher seasonal demands and economic growth beginning to re-accelerate." "Gold and precious metals are likely to sell off because of being an asset class good for safety. Given concerns about inflation, they are a good buying point as well if any weakness." EUGENE EPSTEIN, HEAD OF TRADING AND STRUCTURED PRODUCTS, NORTH AMERICA, MONEYCORP, NEW JERSEY: "I don't think anybody expected it to be particularly specific or substantive. It's essentially a first step towards potentially something more. They both kind of said everything diplomatically. But it's more about the significance of the meeting as a whole, as opposed to the content of what they're saying." "Again, I don't think anybody really expected them to suddenly within a couple of hours come up with a very specific set of plans or any kind of blueprint to something. It basically was just showing their willingness to have continued talks to arrive at a conclusion that is beneficial for all parties. And I think this is just the first steps, and many more to come." "Basically, President Trump needs to go back to the European Union and relay what Putin has said. And then he's got to negotiate with Zelenskiy. For the most part, I think they've laid the groundwork for a deal. And my feeling is that it will probably get done, but there's probably a couple more steps. I'm thinking one of those steps will be Trump, Putin and Zelinski all meeting in the next month." "They will probably reach a deal in 30 days. I was kind of surprised that they didn't take any questions. So there's a little bit of disappointment in that, but until a deal is done, you can't really take any questions." "Overall, the markets will like it marginally because I think they've made some progress. But I don't think we will be up 400 points in Dow futures on Sunday night." MICHAEL ASHLEY SCHULMAN, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, RUNNING POINT, EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA: "At this point, it has been three years into the war, so it really shouldn't have much effect. I think markets will take it as status quo, but I think there's only upside from here." JAMIE COX, MANAGING PARTNER, HARRIS FINANCIAL GROUP, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA: "Without Ukraine at the table, there was little chance for a peace accord. That Putin attended at all was significant, but he can't be seen ending the conflict while on American soil meeting with Trump."
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Winklevoss twins' Gemini reveals lower revenue and wider loss in US IPO filing
Aug 15 (Reuters) - Gemini's revenue fell and losses widened in the first half of 2025, the cryptocurrency exchange said in a U.S. IPO filing, joining a wave of digital-asset firms seeking to tap public markets. Terms of the offering were not disclosed in the filing, made public on Friday. The company reported a net loss of $282.5 million on a total revenue of $68.6 million in the six months ended June 30, compared with a net loss of $41.4 million on a revenue of $74.3 million year earlier. U.S. IPO activity has rebounded in recent months following a slowdown earlier this year caused by uncertainty over trade policy changes, with several new listings drawing strong investor demand. Digital asset companies have also featured prominently in the IPO market in recent months, including blockbuster debuts from stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL.N), opens new tab and cryptocurrency exchange Bullish (BLSH.N), opens new tab. Bullish's debut on Wednesday made it the second listed cryptocurrency exchange in the country after Coinbase Global (COIN.O), opens new tab. Gemini will become the third public crypto exchange once it goes public. "The question for investors regarding Gemini revolves around the business mix and moat of trading versus custody, how they differentiate on trust and growth, and what they do that Coinbase can't copy by Tuesday," said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and CIO at Running Point Capital. Gemini said it will use IPO proceeds for general corporate purposes and to repay all or part of its third-party debt. The exchange also supports stablecoins on its platform, a segment that has drawn attention following last month's signing of the GENIUS Act, a new U.S. law establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins. Gemini issues the Gemini Dollar (GUSD), a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar. The company, which also supports more than 70 cryptocurrencies and operates in over 60 countries, confidentially filed for an IPO in June. Gemini, which was founded in 2014 by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, plans to list on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "GEMI." Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are acting as lead bookrunners. The Winklevoss twins rose to prominence after suing Facebook (META.O), opens new tab, and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, alleging he stole their idea for the social network. They settled in 2008 for cash and Facebook stock. Regulatory clarity under the Trump administration, rising institutional adoption, and increasing ETF inflows have bolstered investor confidence and helped integrate crypto into mainstream finance. In a watershed moment for the industry, Coinbase became the first blockchain-focused company to join the S&P 500 earlier this year. Block (XYZ.N), opens new tab, which facilitates bitcoin purchases, joined the index in July. The shift marks a turnaround for an industry that spent more than a decade under heavy regulatory scrutiny worldwide. "We've seen a shift from speculation to sustainability. Institutional investors are looking for proof points - real clients, regulated products, and long-term market alignment. This is how the sector matures, and it will likely set the stage for other crypto firms keen to list their shares," said Nick Jones, founder of crypto firm Zumo.
