The German-based container shipping company also recorded a positive group net result of around $39 million (€32 million). Based on the audited figures, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased significantly to $1.3 billion (EUR 1.055 billion) (2016: $748 million (€607 million)). Transport volume increased significantly by 29% to 9.8 million TEU (2016: 7.6 million TEU), driven by the merger with United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) and a healthy underlying organic volume growth. Rolf Habben Jansen, Chief Executive Officer of Hapag-Lloyd, said: “Given the market environment, we are satisfied with the financial results in 2017, especially because we at the same time completed the integration of the businesses of Hapag-Lloyd and UASC. “The successful merger with UASC has significantly strengthened our competitive position. We also benefitted from improved freight rates and a positive development of the worldwide container transport volume.” “Looking ahead, we will continue to further reduce our debt. “In addition to that, we want to capture all possible synergies from the merger with UASC and become even more efficient. “Going forward, our customers will benefit from further improved services and new digital products. We will invest to strengthen our position as a quality services provider and will continue to grow profitably in the future. “The market environment remains challenging, but as we see some of the fundamentals improving gradually over the upcoming period, we remain cautiously optimistic.”
container shipping giant Hapag - Lloyd reported a threefold rise in 2017 pre - tax profit to € 411 m ( $ 650 million ) , due largely to a merger with United container Shipping Company . The German sector also benefited from improved freight handling and a 29 % surge in container shipping volumes .