Hapag-Lloyd net profit plummets 67% in H1, maintains outlook:  German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd (HLAG.DE) on Thursday posted a net profit of 2.9 billion euros ($3.18 billion) for the first half of 2023, down by 67% from a year earlier, but maintained its forecasts for full-year earnings. The 2.9 billion euros compared with 8.7 billion euros in 2022 when shipping, a proxy for global trade, enjoyed a boom in the post-pandemic economic growth rebound and in light of logistics disruptions. But now, the global economic slowdown and the clearing of supply log-jams have sent freight rates back down, which has also harmed Hapag-Lloyd's rivals Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) and CMA CGM. Transport volumes were down 3.4% at 5.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), while freight rates were down 38% at $1,761 per TEU. Some relief came from lower transport expenses, mainly due to lower tanker fuel prices. Hapag-Lloyd, the world's fifth-largest shipping line, upheld its May guidance - which itself had repeated a March guidance - for its 2023 full-year earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to be in a 2-4 billion euros range. Source: Reuters Click