TUI forecasts higher profits for Hapag-Lloyd

TUI forecasts higher profits for Hapag-Lloyd    TUI AG, the German travel and tourism company that is the largest investor in Hapag-Lloyd, said Tuesday it expects the container liner company to “generate higher profit contributions than initially forecasted.
   'Since the presentation of the half-year report in mid-May 2010, the positive trend shown by Hapag-Lloyd has strengthened. Transport volumes, and in particular freight rates, have continually improved over recent months and are considerably up year-on-year,” it said in a statement issued Tuesday.
   TUI, which has a 43.33 percent stake in Hapag-Lloyd, said it expects the liner company to “post significantly positive operating earnings (underlying earnings before interest, taxes and amortization, or EBITA).”
   Hapag-Lloyd had revenue of about 1.27 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in the second fiscal quarter ending March 31, 13.4 percent more than in the same 2009 period. EBITA was 13.4 million euro in the second quarter compared to a loss of 221.7 million euro in the second quarter of the prior year.
   TUI acquired Hapag-Lloyd in 1998 and last year sold a majority stake to a group of investors that includes the City of Hamburg through its HGV holding company, K'hne Holding AG, M.M.Warburg Bank, HSH Nordbank and the insurance groups Signal-Iduna and HanseMerkur.