THE EIGHTH-largest global container line, South Korea’s HMM, kept its head above water in 2025 even while registering significant falls in key metrics.
HMM managed an operating margin of 13.4% for the year, “maintaining solid profitability despite a weak global shipping market”. It reported full-year revenue of US$8.38 billion, operating profit of $1.12 billion and net profit of $1.45 billion; compared to 2024 operating profit fell 58.4% and net profit declined 50.3%.
The carrier notes the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) averaged 1,581 points in 2025, representing a 37% decline from the 2024 average of 2,506 points. Freight rates declined sharply across major trade lanes, including the U.S. West Coast (-49%), U.S. East Coast (-42%), and Europe (-49%).
However, compared to fellow travellers ONE, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, HMM saw some stabilisation in the most recent reporting quarter, recording a 6.9% quarter-on-quarter increase in operating profit, with an operating margin of 11.7%.
In brief comments on the outlook for this year, HMM said a large volume of new container vessel deliveries is expected to result in oversupply, while demand growth remains weak, likely to exacerbate supply-demand imbalances.
HMM plans to expand its hub-and-spoke-based container service network and strengthen low-emission service offerings to increase market share and improve cost structures through optimized feeder operations, it said.
According to Alphaliner’s Top 100 Container Lines HMM currently accounts for a 3% global fleet share, with 96 owned and operated ships of 1,017,405 TEU and a further 16 of 184,988 TEU on order.