The group, which also controls tour operator TUI Travel Plc , holds just under 50 percent of Hapag-Lloyd and is following a dual-track process of preparing for a flotation or a sale to investors.
TUI's stake will decline to 38.4 percent at the end of May when it sells an 11.3 percent holding to the other Hapag-Lloyd shareholder, the Albert Ballin consortium.
"We are continuing to explore all options. We are taking our time for thorough discussions with potential buyers," Chief Financial Officer Horst Baier told analysts after the group reported second-quarter results on Thursday.
He declined to be drawn on when the group would make a decision, saying only the group was monitoring the IPO market and was satisfied with the sale process so far.
"We will decide whenever the appropriate point in time comes," he said.
Like other European firms such as Canal+ and ISS, Hapag-Lloyd delayed plans for an initial public offering at Easter after the Japan earthquake and Arab uprisings spooked TUI said demand for hotels in the Canary Islands and cruise holidays had helped offset the impact of unrest in North Africa and that it still expected turnover and earnings to grow in the current financial year.
"We expect to mitigate the impact of Egypt and Tunisia in the second half by sales to other destinations," Baier said.
TUI Travel on Tuesday said increased demand for alternative destinations, such as Spain, Greece and Turkey, had mitigated the loss of business from uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
TUI AG said group turnover in its fiscal second quarter grew 7 percent to 3.08 billion euros ($4.4 billion) and its underlying loss before interest, tax and amortisation widened to 255.5 million euros.
Analysts were expecting second-quarter revenue for TUI AG of 3.03 billion euros and an underlying loss of 253 million.
Turnover at Hapag-Lloyd rose almost 17 percent to 1.5 billion euros. (Reuters)
