Image credit: Hapag-Lloyd

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Hapag-Lloyd reports that bunker consumption during the first half (H1) of 2021 increased year-on-year by around 60,000 metric tonnes, or 2.9 percent, to 2.11m tonnes, up from 2.05m tonnes during the corresponding period in 2020.

The rise is said to have been due to an increase in ship capacity and transport volume, plus longer waiting times at and outside ports.

The percentage of low-sulphur bunker fuel (0.1 and 0.5 percent fuel oil, and distillates) and LNG consumed decreased marginally from 94 percent in H1 2020 to 92 percent in H1 2021. A total of 915 tonnes of LNG was said to have been used during the six-month period.

Bunker consumption per slot (measured by the average container storage capacity, annualised) increased slightly to 2.41 tonnes, compared with 2.35 tonnes in H1 2020.

In terms of transported TEU, bunker consumption dipped to 0.35 tonnes per TEU, down from 0.36 tonnes per TEU the year before.

Hapag-Lloyd: Bunker Consumption (MMT), 2017-21, H1 & Q2

	H1	Q2
2021	2.11	1.06
2020	2.05	0.95
2019	2.20	1.10
2018	2.20	1.10
2017	1.70	0.897

Bunker prices and costs

Hapag-Lloyd's average bunker price of $421 per tonne in H1 2021 was $27, or 6.0 percent, lower than the $448-per-tonne figure for the prior-year period.

Fuel costs, meanwhile, declined by EUR 137.6m, or 15.9 percent, to EUR 725.3m. Hapag explained that the reduction was to some extent due to the year-on-year weakening of the US dollar compared with the euro.

Hapag-Lloyd: Average Bunker Price (US$/mt), 2017-21, H1

	H1
2021	421.00
2020	448.00
2019	429.00
2018	385.00
2017	312.00

Hapag-Lloyd: Bunker Costs (EUR m), 2018-2021, H1 & Q2

	H1	Q2
2021	725.3	403.5
2020	862.9	268.6
2019	822.2	427.6
2018	693.2	367.2

Key financial results

In its overall results, Hapag-Lloyd posted a H1 profit of EUR 2,724.5m (EUR 285.5m in H1 2020) and a second-quarter (Q2) profit of EUR 1,521.0m (EUR 260.6m in Q2 2020).

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) jumped to EUR 3,517.3m in H1 (EUR 1,168.7m, H1 2020) and EUR 1,933.4m in Q2 (EUR 699.3m, Q2 2020).

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was EUR 2,893.2m in H1 (EUR 511.3m, H1 2020) and EUR 1,616.1m in Q2 (EUR 351.5m, Q2 2020).

Revenue grew in H1 by EUR 2,393.1m, or 37.6 percent, to EUR 8,753.4m, whilst in Q2 the figure climbed EUR 1,669m, or 55.3 percent, to EUR 4,686.0m.