Hapag-Lloyd has best quarter ever

Hapag-Lloyd has best quarter ever    Hapag-Lloyd, the world's fifth-largest container carrier, had operating income of 226 million euro ($294 million) in the third quarter ending June 30, compared to a 193 million euro operating loss in the same 2009 period.
   TUI, the publicly traded German tourism company that owns 43.33 percent of Hapag-Lloyd, said the results were “considerably better than expected” and the container carrier “posted the best quarterly results in its history.”
   The company attributed the change to both successful implementation of a cost-cutting program and higher revenue of 1.6 billion euro ($2.1 billion) in the third quarter compared to 1.3 billion euro in the same 2009 period.
   Revenue was boosted by a 30 percent increase in freight rates and an 8 percent increase in volume.