The revenue and earnings of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) recorded positive growth in the first nine months of 2024. In addition to a significant rise in transport volume, higher storage charges at the Hamburg container terminals owing to temporarily longer container dwell times, as well as the expansion of the European network, all had a beneficial effect. Group revenue rose by 8.5 percent to € 1,182.9 million (previous year: € 1,090.0 million). The Group operating result (EBIT) climbed by 23.2 percent to € 93.2 million (previous year: € 75.6 million). The EBIT margin amounted to 7.9 percent (previous year: 6.9 percent). Consolidated profit after minority interests came to € 23.1 million (previous year: € 11.9 million).
The listed Port Logistics subgroup recorded a significant increase in revenue to € 1,155.9 million in the first nine months (previous year: € 1,061.3 million). The operating result (EBIT) increased by 31.8 percent to € 81.5 million (previous year: € 61.8 million), while the EBIT margin rose year-on-year by 1.3 percentage points to 7.1 percent. Profit after tax and minority interests came to € 16.3 million (previous year: € 3.1 million). Earnings per share thus amounted to € 0.22 (previous year: € 0.04).
Сontainer handling at HHLA’s container terminals increased compared with the previous year’s performance by 0.9 percent to 4,496 thousand standard containers (TEU) (previous year: 4,455 thousand TEU). With year-on-year growth of 0.2 percent to 4,292 thousand TEU, container throughput at the Hamburg container terminals was on previous year’s level (previous year: 4,286 thousand TEU).
Whereas volumes in overseas traffic decreased for the Far East and Middle East shipping regions, there was strong volume growth for the North and South America shipping regions, particularly for the United States. Against the backdrop of temporary route adjustments caused by the military conflict in the Red Sea, there was also a positive trend in cargo volumes with other European seaports. In terms of feeder traffic, there was a particularly strong rise in container throughput from Lithuania and within Germany in addition to a recovery in Swedish and Polish traffic. By contrast, Finnish and Danish cargo volumes declined. The proportion of seaborne handling by feeders stood at 19.0 percent (previous year: 18.4 percent). The international container terminals reported a marked rise in handling volume of 20.2 percent to 203 thousand TEU (previous year: 169 thousand TEU). This was due to strong volume growth at the multi-function terminal HHLA TK Estonia and the resumption of seaborne handling at Container Terminal Odessa in the third quarter of 2024.
During the first nine months, revenue rose significantly by 8.2 percent to € 578.1 million (previous year: € 534.3 million). This was mainly due to longer dwell times for containers handled at the Hamburg container terminals, which continued to have a positive impact on storage fees.
The positive trend at HHLA’s international container terminals also contributed to the increase in revenue. The operating result (EBIT) rose by 87.1 percent to € 51.0 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 27.3 million), mainly due to the improved revenue trend. The EBIT margin increased by 3.7 percentage points to 8.8 percent (previous year: 5.1 percent). The Intermodal segment recorded a significant increase in volumes during the first nine months of 2024.
Container transport increased by a total of 8.1 percent to 1,321 thousand TEU overall (previous year: 1,222 thousand TEU).
Rail traffic increased by 10.2 percent to 1,144 thousand TEU (previous year: 1,037 thousand TEU), with the strong rise in transport volumes in the German-speaking regions more than offsetting the decline in traffic with Adriatic seaports and in Polish traffic. The positive volume trend was also aided by the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Roland Spedition GmbH in the second quarter. There was a moderate decrease in road transport of 4.1 percent to 178 thousand TEU (previous year: 185 thousand TEU). With year-on-year growth of 12.0 percent to € 521.9 million (previous year: € 465.8 million), revenue growth was stronger than the increase in transport volumes.
Alongside routine price adjustments, this was due to rail’s increased share of total transport volumes – up 1.7 percentage points year-on-year at 86.6 percent (previous year: 84.9 percent). The operating result (EBIT) increased by 2.2 percent to € 62.7 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 61.4 million). The EBIT margin fell by 1.2 percentage points to 12.0 percent (previous year: 13.2 percent).
In addition to shifts in the cargo mix and increased union wage rates, there were also adverse effects from costs incurred by strike action at the Hamburg terminals in the third quarter, the impact of wide-scale flooding in Eastern Europe and the expansion of operations in rail transport.
Expectations for the operating result (EBIT) have been raised and are now within a range between € 110 million and € 130 million (previously: € 70 million and € 100 million). Within this range, a strong year-on-year increase is expected for both the Container and the Intermodal segments in their respective segment EBIT results. Against the background of the effects described above, the operating result (EBIT) is now expected to be within a range between € 125 million and € 145 million (previously: € 85 million and € 115 million). As a result of delays in the implementation of investment projects, primarily in the Real Estate subgroup and Intermodal segment as a result of exogenous factors, capital expenditure at Group level is now expected to be at the lower end of the range between € 325 million and € 375 million (previously: € 400 million and € 450 million). With anticipated investments of € 300 million to € 350 million, the Port Logistics subgroup will account for the majority of this expenditure (previously: € 360 million to € 410 million).
