ISRAEL’S ZIM Integrated Shipping Services was punished by geopolitical tradewinds in Q3 2025 but has raised the mid-point of full-year expectations based on resilient performance.
Net income for the third quarter was USD 123 million (compared to USD 1,126 million in the third quarter of 2024), while operating income (EBIT) for the third quarter was USD 259 million, compared to USD 1,235 million in the third quarter of 2024.
Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter was USD 593 million, a year-over-year decrease of 61% and adjusted EBIT for Q3 2025 was USD 260 million, compared to $1,236 million in 2024.
Revenues for the third quarter were USD 1.78 billion, a year-over-year decrease of 36%.
Carried volume in the third quarter slipped 5% year-over-year to 926,000 TEU but tellingly average freight rate per TEU in the third quarter was USD 1,602, a year-over-year decrease of 35%.
ZIM president and CEO Eli Glickman maintained his typical optimism, saying “Our business resilience was evident in the third quarter, during which we delivered solid earnings while navigating a volatile rate environment, influenced by a complex geopolitical landscape, frequent changes in tariff policies and an ongoing global trade war.
“With larger, more modern, cost-effective capacity, we continued to capitalize on our agile fleet deployment strategy, which enables ZIM to respond quickly to developments in market conditions, now facing downward pricing pressure.
“In addition to adapting our Transpacific network based on prevailing demand trends, we have diversified our geographic footprint to capture new growth opportunities.”
Mr. Glickman said the current market environment had been marked by disruptions and fluctuations more frequent and acute than in the past.
“Amidst such uncertainty, our focus remains on controlling what we can and taking proactive steps to drive sustainable and profitable growth over the long term. We intend to build on our progress to date through continued diligent execution—further strengthening ZIM's business resilience, both commercially and operationally, and advancing our competitive position in the industry,” he said.
“Looking ahead, while fourth quarter market conditions have weakened, we are increasing the midpoints of our 2025 guidance ranges based on our strong performance to date. Overall, we believe our differentiated commercial strategy, enhanced fleet profile, and improved cost structure position ZIM to weather near-term volatility and deliver long-term value for shareholders.”
For the nine months ended 30 September 2025 total revenues were USD 5.42 billion compared to USD 6.26 billion for the first nine months of 2024, primarily driven by the decrease in freight rates.
ZIM carried 2,765,000 TEU in the first nine months of 2025, compared to 2,768,000 TEU in the first nine months of the year prior. The average freight rate per TEU was USD 1,622 for the first nine months of 2025, compared to USD 1,889 for the first nine months of 2024.
Operating income (EBIT) for the first nine months of 2025 was USD 873 million (USD 1,870 million) with the decrease primarily driven by the above-mentioned decrease in revenues as well as the increase in depreciation.
Net income for the first nine months of 2025 was USD 443 million (USD 1,591 million) and adjusted EBITDA was USD 1.84 billion for the first nine months of 2025, compared to $2.72 billion for the first nine months of 2024. Adjusted EBIT was USD 872 million for the first nine months of 2025 (USD $1,891 million) Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBIT margins for the first nine months of 2025 were 34% and 16%, respectively. This compares to 44% and 30% for the first nine months of 2024.
Net cash generated from operating activities was $1.92 billion for the first nine months of 2025, compared to $2.60 billion for the first nine months of 2024.