Remuneration report

Executive Board remuneration

The remuneration system used for HHLA’s Executive Board is designed to foster successful and sustainable corporate development. The full Supervisory Board is responsible for defining the Executive Board’s remuneration system, regularly reviewing and adjusting the remuneration system if necessary, and setting the individual remuneration of executives following preparatory work by the Personnel Committee. When making such decisions, the Personnel Committee and the Supervisory Board take into account the recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code, the responsibilities and performance of each member of the Executive Board, and in particular HHLA’s size and activities, its financial and economic position, the amount and structure of executive board remuneration at comparable companies, and the relationship between the remuneration of the Executive Board and the remuneration of the upper levels of management and the workforce.

In accordance with the current remuneration system for the members of the Executive Board, remuneration for Executive Board members comprises a non-performance-related fixed salary, a performance-related bonus, fringe benefits and pension contributions. Executive Board members receive their fixed remuneration in the form of twelve monthly payments. Fringe benefits (non-monetary compensation) include the right to use an appropriate company car (including for private purposes) and the payment of insurance premiums by the company. The members of the Executive Board pay tax on these benefits as components of their remuneration.

Level of remuneration for Executive Board members according to different scenarios

As of: 31 December 2019

1 Per container handled and transported

The performance-related bonus is set on the basis of a three-year assessment period and in each case paid out once the annual financial statements have been approved. The calculation is based on the average earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the past three years (before additions to pension provisions and reduced by any extraordinary income from the disposal of real estate and companies), the average return on capital employed (ROCE) and the achievement of targets relating to environmental issues (reduction of the carbon footprint of each container handled and transported) and social issues (broken down into training and continuing professional development, health and employment) in the same period. Target ranges were set for each of the sustainability components. Achieving these targets triggers the payment of the relevant bonus. When making these calculations, roughly equal weight is given to EBIT on the one hand and the above-mentioned sustainability components on the other. The total variable remuneration is capped at 100 % of the fixed salary.

Retirement benefits are granted on the basis of individual arrangements in the form of pension entitlements, the payment of a fixed amount earmarked for a private pension fund or the payment of premiums for a direct insurance policy. In accordance with their pension entitlements, the Executive Board members receive a pension if they retire after a specific period due to incapacity or reaching retirement age. The pension is based on their annual basic salary. Several different forms of income are taken into account on an individual basis, such as earnings from self-employment or employment and, in some cases, income from statutory pensions and related benefits from public funds. Surviving spouses/civil partners of Executive Board members receive a widow(er)’s pension of 55 to 60 % of the pension entitlement, and children receive an orphan’s allowance of 12 to 20 % of the pension. Should the pension entitlement have been suspended or no longer apply, transitional or interim pay applies for a limited period on the basis of the fixed remuneration.

The service contracts of the members of the Executive Board contain a clause that provides for the payment of compensation to the respective Executive Board member in the event of them losing their Executive Board seat without good cause (including termination due to a change of control). The compensation is limited to a maximum of two annual salaries (including other benefits) and not more than the total remuneration for the remaining term of the service contract.

In light of the German Act on the Transposition of the Second Shareholder Rights Directive (ARUG II) and the associated revised version of the German Corporate Governance Code (GCGC), the Supervisory Board has initiated a review of the remuneration system for the Executive Board, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.

The members of the Executive Board were not granted any loans or similar payments. Total remuneration disbursed to the members of the Executive Board for their services in the 2019 financial year amounted to approximately € 3.1 million (previous year: approximately € 3.0 million). Former members of the Executive Board and their surviving dependants received benefits totalling € 1,096,949 (previous year: € 1,008,923). Total provisions of € 28,783,941 were recognised for pension obligations to former members of the Executive Board and their surviving dependants (previous year: € 23,239,497).

Individual remuneration of the Executive Board

The following figures comply with the recommendations in Section 4.2.5 of the GCGC (in the version dated 7 February 2017).

Supervisory Board remuneration

In accordance with Article 16 of HHLA’s articles of association, Supervisory Board members are remunerated as resolved by the Annual General Meeting. This remuneration is based on the scope of the Supervisory Board members’ activities as well as on the company’s financial position and results. The current remuneration clause was adopted at the Annual General Meeting held on 13 June 2013. The members of the Supervisory Board receive fixed remuneration of € 13,500 per financial year. The chairman receives three times this amount and the vice chairman is paid one-and-a-half times the basic figure. Supervisory Board members who belong to a committee receive an additional € 2,500 per committee per financial year, while the chairman of the respective committee receives € 5,000, but altogether no more than € 10,000. Supervisory Board members who have belonged to the Supervisory Board or a committee for less than one full financial year receive a corresponding pro rata payment. Furthermore, Supervisory Board members receive a meeting attendance fee of € 250 for each meeting of the Supervisory Board or one of its committees. There are no plans for a variable remuneration component.

No loans or similar payments were granted to members of the Supervisory Board. Other than the customary remuneration payable to the employee representatives under their contracts of employment, Supervisory Board members did not receive any other payment for services rendered. The total remuneration paid to members of the Supervisory Board during the reporting period amounted to € 305,875 (previous year: € 309,292).