After six years of growth, in 2023 the revenues of HMM, which is South Korea's leading containerized shipping company, decreased by -54.8% to €8,401.0 billion won ($6.3 billion) vs. 18,582.8 billion won in the previous financial year in which HMM, as well as the other major ocean carriers in the same market, achieved record financial performance.

In 2023, only the revenues generated by the core business of shipping containerized amounted to €6,964 billion (-59.7%) and those produced by the Group's fleet of bulk carriers liquid and solid assets amounted to €1,243 billion (+13.4%). The significant decrease in annual turnover was consistent in the first three quarters of 2023 having been -58% in each of the periods and has eased in the last quarterly period, as a decrease of -41.5% was recorded on the fourth quarter of 2022. The bending was caused by mainly due to the reduction in the value of sea freight rates of the container segment, with an average freight rate of In the first three months of 2023, it was $1,061/TEU (-71.4% on the same period of 2022), in the following quarter of $983/TEU (-70.9%), in the third quarter of $946/TEU (-66.9%) and in the fourth quarter of last year of 913 dollars/teu (-43,6%). In 2023 as a whole, the average value of freight rates was of 973 dollars/TEU, down -66.2% on the year previous.

In 2023, the South Korean company's operating costs fell -8.7% to 7,426.1 billion won. Operating profit is €584.9 billion (-94.1%) and net profit of €1,006.3 billion won (-91.9%).

Last year, the container ship fleet of the Asian company transported volumes of containerized cargo equal to approximately 3.8 million TEUs compared to 3.7 million in the year previous. In the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, the volumes transported amounted to 940 thousand TEUs (-1%).

In the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, revenues generated by the containerised maritime transport amounted to 1,684.9 billion won (-47.2%) and those deriving from the activity in the bulk segment at €324.1 million (+8.7%). Operating profit €41.9 million (-96.7%) and net profit €300.5 million. won (-78.9%).

In the course of 2024, HMM will take delivery of 12 new 13,000 TEU container ships that will increase the capacity of total hold of the fleet at one million TEUs.