Hapag-Lloyd is expecting the coronavirus pandemic to have a notable impact on 2020 container volumes.
The Rolf Habben Jensen-led owner and operator of 239 boxships has taken "additional precautionary financial measures" to offset the anticipated downturn after seeing a profitable 2019.
"We have — after a very good 2019 in which we improved profitability significantly and reduced debt more than planned — taken additional precautionary financial measures now to assure that even if the crisis persists longer than we expect today, we will be able to offer you the services and products you need," chief executive Jansen wrote in a letter.
"So far the crisis has had only limited impact on our business, but we expect a significant effect of the virus on global container traffic in the months to come, and if this happens we will have to make some adjustments to the network."
Hapag-Lloyd declined to specify what those added measures will be.
The Germany-listed company's 2019 net profit improved almost eightfold to $418m from the prior year amid slightly lower costs and higher revenue.
Hapag-Lloyd expects 2020 container volumes worldwide to fall 2.4%, however, from last year, according to Clarksons data cited in its 2019 annual report.
It also foresees a 0.5-percentage-point drop in gross domestic product to 2.4%.
Ports in China coming back
At the same time, the company sees that many ports in China have returned to normal and expects others to do the same worldwide, so it has chartered-in an extra 100,000 teu in container volume.
"Our vessels are today operating as usual and our service structure is largely unchanged," Jansen wrote.
"We hope that you can understand and accept that even though we are doing our best to meet your needs, there may still be times when we are unable to provide our services at the normal speed and when delays might be encountered."
Jansen said the company has asked as many workers as possible to work from home, cancelled attendance at trade shows and postponed business travel to help curb the spread of the virus.
"Our crews are not changing ships in high-risk areas, and additional safety measures are being implemented on board our vessels," he wrote.
