Hamburg Süd has announced that it failed to escape the impact of downward pressure on revenue in 2011, as a result of increasing overcapacity and rising costs – particularly with regards to fuel – in the shipping industry.
In its yearly report, the German group noted that it had been 'another challenging year in global shipping', despite rising rising volumes and stable freight rates.
The company's total turnover increased by 7 per cent year-on-year to €4.8bn, with Hamburg Süd transporting 9 per cent more containers (3.1m TEUs), although the group still saw its result 'remain below budget' and fall short of the previous year.
Looking ahead, the group said that it could see only 'isolated positive signs' for 2012, and predicted that while end-of-year results would be an improvement on 2011, they would still no be satisfactory.
