Maria Sheahan News

Germany may allow China's Cosco to take a smaller stake than originally planned in a Hamburg port terminal, in what an economy ministry source on Tuesday described as an "emergency solution" to approve the deal but mitigate the impact.Shipping giant Cosco made a bid last year to take a 35% stake in one of logistics firm HHLA's three terminals in Germany's largest port, but the German coalition has been divided over whether to let the deal go ahead.The compromise would see Berlin approving a sale of 24.9% of the terminal to Cosco, several government sources said.

The European Commission warned the German government last spring not to approve an investment by China's Cosco into Hamburg's port, German daily Handelsblatt reported on Friday, citing sources.Shipping giant Cosco last year made a bid to take a 35% stake in one of three terminals in Germany's largest port in the northern city of Hamburg.Germany's ruling coalition is divided over whether to approve the investment, government sources say, even as Beijing urges Berlin not to politicize the bid and the port authority warns this could hurt the economy.According to Handelsblatt…

Global growth in container fleets through new orders and building activity will outstrip shipping demand from next year and ease current market tightness, the chief executive of Hapag-Lloyd said in an analyst call on Thursday.“Over the upcoming 24 months, we clearly see that supply growth will outpace demand growth,” said CEO Rolf Habben Jansen after presenting figures for the first half of 2022.Presentation slides he referred to predicted demand growth at 3% next year over 2022 and fleet growth of 7%.(Reuters - Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Maria Sheahan)

RWE is holding talks with a larger number of suppliers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), not just Qatar and North America, CEO Markus Krebber said, as Germany's largest power producer continues its efforts to replace Russian gas volumes.RWE earlier this year said it was in discussions with potential LNG suppliers in the United States and Qatar, as Germany tries to diversify away from Russia, its largest supplier of natural gas.Sources told Reuters in May that talks with Qatar have proven difficult over a disagreement regarding key contract clauses…

Thyssenkrupp's defense division hopes to start building for the German navy from 2024 at a shipyard in Wismar, northern Germany, once owned by insolvent MV Werften, its head said on Friday after it bought the site.Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in a policy shift after decades of attrition of Germany's armed forces, pledged in February after Russia invaded Ukraine to sharply increase defence spending, including an initial 100 billion euro ($106 billion) fund.Thyssenkrupp Chief Executive Martina Merz said last month that decision was "beneficial" to its marine services division (TKMS), which said on Fr

German logistics and transportation company Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA) is paying its 480 employees at the port of Odessa a month’s salary in advance so they can stock up on goods after the Ukrainian port was closed on Thursday.“HHLA as a group is not endangered in its substance by the events in Odessa,” said Chief Executive Angela Titzrath in a statement, adding that all HHLA employees had left the terminal.Titzrath added that the company expected that its employees would be able “to continue their service on land at the terminal” because ports are considered critical infrastructure.S

Gazprom's Swiss unit can challenge an EU gas rule that requires gas producers to be separate companies from those that control the pipeline, an adviser to the EU's top court said on Wednesday.Russia's Gazprom owns operator Nord Stream 2 and is the planned gas supplier for the Russia-to-Germany link that was completed last month.The opinion from Advocate General Michal Bobek, if confirmed by the EU Court of Justice (CJEU), may help the Russian company in its long-running fight…

Germany's Hapag-Lloyd sees its first-quarter operating profit more than tripling to at least 1.5 billion euros ($1.81 billion) thanks to strong demand for container transportation amid the coronavirus pandemic, it said on Tuesday.The company expects demand for seaborne shipments normalizing over the course of the year."We are still seeing slower container turn times, significant congestion in ports around the globe, capacity constraints in rail and truck, and the risks of the coronavirus pandemic remain," Chief Executive Rolf Habben said.Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortiza

The United States has informed Germany that it plans to impose sanctions on a Russian pipe-laying ship involved in construction of the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, the German Economy Ministry said on Monday."We're taking note of the announcement with regret," an Economy Ministry spokesman in Berlin said.German business daily Handelsblatt had earlier reported the U.S. sanctions would go into effect on Tuesday as part of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).It said the sanctions would be imposed on the Russian pipe-laying ship "Fortuna" and its owner, KVT-RUS.Nord Stream 2, designed to double the capacity of the existing Nord Stream undersea gas pipeline, would bypass Ukraine, depriving it of lucrative transit fees.

The United States has told European allies it plans to impose sanctions on a Russian pipe-laying ship, "Fortuna", involved in construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, German business daily Handelsblatt reported on Monday.The U.S. administration told government officials in Berlin and other European capitals on Monday that the sanctions would go into effect on Tuesday as part of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), the newspaper added.It said the sanctions would be imposed on the ship and its owner, KVT-RUS.Nord Stream 2, designed to double capacity of the existing undersea Nord Stream gas pipeline…

Thyssenkrupp's CEO on Tuesday said that she could not put a timeline on the group's fresh turnaround plans, saying that selling assets - a key part of its strategy - was difficult in the current environment."We can prepare things but it is rather difficult to say how long it'll take," Martina Merz said, adding that prior to the coronavirus pandemic her estimate had been two to three years. (Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Maria Sheahan)

Thyssenkrupp is exploring several strategic options for its warship unit, ranging from combining it with Italy’s Fincantieri to creating a national champion with German peers, a person familiar with the matter said.The talks are aimed at creating economies of scale for the division, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), which builds submarines and surface ships and operates in a highly fragmented sector driven by political decisions, the source said.As part of the deliberations…

Chief Financial Officer Guido Kerkhoff was named interim CEO of Thyssenkrupp on Friday and won the backing of the German industrial group's biggest shareholder, as the search began for a permanent replacement for Heinrich Hiesinger.Hiesinger quit last week after failing to win unanimous shareholder backing for a deal to create a steel venture with India's Tata Steel.Kerkhoff, 50, will run the company until the process of finding a Hiesinger's replacement is completed, Thyssenkrupp Chairman Ulrich Lehner said…

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd is cutting costs to cope with a rise in fuel prices that led it to slash full year earnings forecasts last month, its chief executive told shareholders on Tuesday."Major cost positions have risen more than initially expected and are pressuring operating margins," CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said in Hamburg."We are responding short-term to this development through forceful cost management and will keep Hapag-Lloyd competitive this way," he added.Among the measures being taken are accepting more valuable cargo…

German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp is examining a full or partial exit from its naval vessels business, which is part of the group's Marine Systems unit, a person familiar with the matter said.The news was first reported by German newspaper Handelsblatt, which said the company was in talks with competitors that could result in a complete or partial sale of the activities, adding they would be wound down if no agreement would be reached.The paper said the group was also mulling an exit from its submarine business.Thyssenkrupp said it generally does not comment on market speculation.Thyssenkrupp M

Managers of insolvent P&R Group are being investigated after it was discovered the investment firm sold nearly one million more shipping containers than it owned, the Munich prosecutors' office said on Thursday.Once the world's biggest lessor of shipping containers, P&R sells containers to investors and its sister company in Switzerland rents them out to shipping companies.P&R later buys back the containers from investors.P&R, which is based near Munich, has sold some 1.6 million containers to around 54,000 investors for a total 3.5 billion euros ($4.12 billion).But a tally made after its Germ

German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd reported a higher net profit and operating result in the first quarter of 2018 on Monday, citing better transport volumes, but said earnings improvements would mostly be made in the second half."We have had a solid start into the current year, but the market environment is challenging," Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen said."Freight rates have been under pressure, bunker costs and trucking costs in some important markets were up and we faced a weaker U.S.

Europe’s largest travel and tourism group TUI Group said it had approved construction of another cruise ship for its Hapag-Lloyd cruise business and that summer trading was good as it reported second quarter results.The group reported a narrower operating loss of 125 million euros ($148 million) for the quarter, which is traditionally loss-making, and confirmed a target for full-year underlying earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) to rise by at least 10 percent at constant currencies.“Trading for Summer 2018 is very good and fully matches our expectations. Demand for Spain remains strong,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.($1 = 0.8438 euros)(Reporting by Victoria Bryan Editing by Maria Sheahan)

Container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd announced a surprise dividend to shareholders on Wednesday and forecast a rise in annual earnings this year thanks to synergies from its merger with Gulf peer UASC. Hapag-Lloyd merged with UASC last year, becoming the world's No. 5 container shipper after overcapacity, price wars and freight rates far below break-even levels fanned industry consolidation. The German group said it would pay its shareholders 0.57 euro per share for 2017 - its…

German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd on Wednesday said it expected to improve earnings this year thanks to synergies from the merger with Gulf peer UASC and rising transport volumes.   Operating profit (EBITDA) will post a clear rise in 2018 after nearly doubling to 1.06 billion euros ($1.31 billion) in 2017, Hapag-Lloyd said, even as freight rates remain flat due to the merger with UASC.   Reporting by Maria Sheahan and Vera Eckert

German lender NordLB has abandoned efforts to sell a 1.3 billion euro ($1.5 billion) portfolio of shipping loans to KKR, Handelsblatt reported on Monday, citing a spokesman for NordLB. NordLB had said in April it hoped to complete a deal by the end of June. Neither NordLB nor KKR were immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan)

German shipping group Rickmers said it would file for insolvency after bondholder HSH Nordbank rejected its restructuring plan a day ahead of a last-ditch bondholders' meeting. Rickmers had proposed a revamp plan under which the equity stake of owner Bertram Rickmers was to be reduced to 24.9 percent, while bondholders, HSH Nordbank and potentially another bank would hold 75.1 percent. But HSH "highly surprisingly" rejected that plan, Rickmers said in a statement on Wednesday. "According to the assessment of the management board and supervisory board of Rickmers Holding AG the positive going concern prognosis of Rickmers Holding AG does therefore no longer apply," it said, adding its management board would file for insolvency without undue delay.

German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd expects increased operating earnings this year, it said on Friday, citing a rise in freight rates as market conditions improve. The shipping industry has been grappling with a prolonged downturn brought about by overcapacity in a faltering global economy, but Hapag Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen pointed to signs of upward momentum. "We expect some market improvement in 2017, but our success will largely depend on our ability to achieve more sustainable freight rates," he said.