Real estate segment

In 2018, Hamburg’s office rental market was unable to match the high revenue level of the previous year. According to Grossmann & Berger’s latest market report, 590,000 m² of office space was let in the reporting period, corresponding to a year-on-year decrease of 8 % (previous year: 640,000 m²). One major reason for the decrease in revenue was the supply shortage.

At the end of the year, the vacancy rate for offices in Hamburg remained unchanged from the preceding quarter at 3.5 % but was 0.8 percentage points down on the previous year (4.3 %) as a result of high demand and a decline in available space. Despite the increase in the number of new-builds completed, no increase in the vacancy rate is expected in the medium term.

HHLA’s properties in Hamburg’s Speicherstadt historical warehouse district and the fish market area achieved a further moderate increase in revenue of 3.6 % to € 39.3 million in 2018 (previous year: € 37.9 million) – despite almost full occupancy as in the previous year.

Due to scheduled large-scale maintenance work that does not qualify for capitalisation, the operating result (EBIT) declined year-on-year by a moderate 5.1 % to € 15.5 million (previous year: € 16.3 million).

The long-term and value-oriented development of the real estate portfolio is a major pillar for the financial success of the segment. In order to ensure this remains so, HHLA will continue to invest in its property portfolio.