The ocean shipping industry would take a move of APL from one alliance to another in stride, according to Rolf Habben Jansen, chief executive officer of the German liner carrier.
Rolf Habben Jansen, chief executive officer of Hapag-Lloyd, said Wednesday that a merger or acquisition involving fellow G6 Alliance member APL would not be “very disruptive” if it occurs.
Habben Jansen made his comment during a call with investment analysts to discuss Hapag-Lloyd’s third quarter results, which showed strong improvement over the same period last year and comes on the heels of the company’s initial public offering of shares last week.
Over the weekend, Neptune Orient Lines, parent company of ocean carrier APL, said it is “in preliminary discussions with CMA CGM SA and A.P. Møller-Maersk A/S with respect to a potential acquisition of NOL.”
Such a deal could lead to a further reshuffling of the four major alliances that currently include 16 of the leading ocean liner companies.
APL and Hapag-Lloyd are members of the G6 Alliance along with Hyundai Merchant Marine, MOL, NYK, and OOCL. CMA CGM, on the other hand, is part of the Ocean3 Alliance with United Arab Shipping Company and China Shipping Container Lines, while Maersk has partnered with MSC in what is known as the 2M Alliance.
Creating further uncertainty are potential plans by China Shipping to merge with fellow state-owned carrier COSCO, which is a member of the CKYHE Alliance along with “K” Line, Yang Ming, Hanjin Shipping, and Evergreen Line.
“The reality with these things is they always take a certain amount of time before they come to fruition. If something would happen, then I don’t expect any major impact on any of the alliances throughout 2016,” said Habben Jansen. “There might be some reshuffling as a consequence of that in 2017, but I don’t think it will be very disruptive to be honest.
“These type of things have happened in the past many times that you have one or two people moving from one alliance to another, and the alliances are robust enough to deal with that. So I’m not so worried about that.”
Hapag-Lloyd reported a third quarter 2015 profit of 3.2 million euros (U.S. $3.43 million) compared with a loss of 50.7 million euros in the same period last year. Earnings before interest and taxes for the quarter stood at 80.9 million euros compared with 23.6 million euros in the same 2014 period.
Revenues at the German ocean carrier were up 27.4 percent to 2.14 billion euros for the quarter compared with the third quarter of 2014.
The company attributed the improved results primarily to its acquisition of the container business of the Chilean shipping company CSAV and resulting synergies.
Driven by increased scale as a result of the merger, transport expense per TEU decreased 17.8 percent or $240 per TEU to $1,111 per TEU, according to Hapag-Lloyd’s most recent financial statements.
“We are satisfied with our results for the first nine months of 2015, given the very challenging market environment”, Habben Jansen said of the results. “The third quarter proved once more that the merger with CSAV was the right step and that our cost reduction measures are making us competitive. With the proceeds from the IPO, we will be able to invest in the future to further improve efficiency and profitability.”
Hapag-Lloyd CEO: NOL sale would not be ‘very disruptive’ to G6 Alliance
