45. Leases

Leases as a lessee

For further information about leases within the HHLA Group, please see Notes 6, 12, 14, 16, 23, 38 and 40.

Basic recognition of leases

Pursuant to 16, all leases are to be recognised on the balance sheet. The following significant leases currently exist within the HHLA Group:

The Group has concluded various lease agreements for a number of properties, technical facilities, and operating and office equipment. Among other things, these agreements relate to land, quay walls, lifting and ground-handling vehicles, container wagons and chassis, as well as IT hardware. In some cases, they include renewal and put options. The renewal options are always for the lessee; the put options can be used by the respective lessor to force a sale.

Leases recognised under liabilities to related parties

The Group rents mega-ship berths from the owner of the port areas, the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), which is a related party, see Note 48. The fixed lease initially runs until 2036, but HHLA anticipates that the lease terms of these assets will extend over 50 years (as in the past). The agreements make provisions for the allocation of liability in the event of nullity and the associated premature termination of the lease as a result of conflict with EU law. The Executive Board of HHLA believes the risk of a conflict with EU law is currently very low. During the reporting year, adjustments were made to lease obligations for mega-ship berths as a result of the contractually agreed change in the refinancing interest rates.

Agreements exist between the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and/or HPA and the HHLA Group for the lease of land and quay walls in the Port of Hamburg and in the Speicherstadt historical warehouse district by companies in the HHLA Group. The main contracts expire between 2025 and 2036. Under the terms of the agreements, the lease payments are generally reviewed every five years on the basis of price developments in relevant competing ports or based on appropriate rental indices. The expected interest rate increases for the past periods and the expected interest rate increases up until 2026 have been taken into consideration accordingly in these Consolidated Financial Statements. Leasing expenses for the space in the Speicherstadt historical warehouse district are partly linked to the development of Group income from subletting these buildings.

Without the prior approval of the lessor, the leased areas may not be relet and the buildings on them belonging to HHLA may not be sold or let. Major changes to the terms of subletting agreements also require the approval of the lessor.

Leases recognised under non-current and current financial liabilities

There are leases relating to real estate and movable property at HHLA PLT Italy S.r.l., Trieste, Italy. On the whole, the rents payable for this are fixed and will only change during the course of the agreement as a result of future inflation, if applicable. The company will not have purchase options at the end of the lease agreements. The respective lease agreements have remaining terms of between 5 and 31 years.

There are also leases relating to real estate and movable property at the container in Odessa, Ukraine. On the whole, the rents payable for this are fixed and will only change during the course of the agreement as a result of future inflation. The company will not have purchase options at the end of the lease agreements. The respective lease agreements have terms of between 1 and 33 years.

There are also significant leases for real estate at the container terminal in Tallinn, Estonia. On the whole, the rents payable for this are fixed and will only change during the course of the agreement as a result of future inflation. The company will not have purchase options at the end of the lease agreements. The respective lease agreements will expire in 2062.

The METRANS Group has concluded lease agreements for various motor vehicles and items of technical equipment. These leases have an average term of three to ten years and some include renewal options. The leases concluded for individual items of real estate have a term of up to 30 years and some of them also include renewal options. The lessee takes on no obligations when signing these leases. The METRANS Group also rents a terminal facility for a period of 30 years as part of a concession agreement.

Short-term lease agreements and leases for low-value assets

The Group rents technical equipment, motor vehicles, IT equipment, office furniture, etc. over terms of between one and three years. These lease agreements are either short term or (and) pertain to items of low value. In such cases, HHLA reports neither the rights of use nor lease liabilities. The following table shows the effects of leases on the income statement and other comprehensive income:

Leases in the income statement

in T€

 

2021

 

2020

Cost of materials and other operating expenses

 

 

 

 

Expenses from non-current leases

 

12,119

 

7,004

Expenses from leases for low-value assets

 

848

 

785

Expenses from variable lease payments

 

422

 

297

Amortisation and depreciation

 

 

 

 

Amortisation and depreciation of rights of use

 

50,035

 

49,039

Financial result

 

 

 

 

Interest expenses from leasing liabilities

 

22,397

 

21,581

Future unrecognised cash outflows

The table below shows the future cash outflows which may be incurred by the lessee and which may not have been recognised when measuring the lease liability:

Future unrecognized cash outflows

in € thousand

 

31.12.2021

 

31.12.2020

Future variable lease payments

 

9,436

 

10,006

Extension and termination options

 

761

 

761

Residual value guarantees

 

21

 

19

Leases not yet begun

 

2,194

 

119

 

 

12,412

 

10,905

Leases as a lessor

The Group has signed lease agreements for letting its properties on a commercial basis, see Note 24. HHLA has categorised these leases as operating leases because virtually none of the risks and potential rewards associated with ownership are transferred to the Group. The investment properties consist of office space, facilities and a commercial property not used by the Group. These leases have remaining uncancellable lease terms of between 1 and 13 years. After the end of the uncancellable lease period, some contracts give tenants the option of extending the lease for a period of between two years and a maximum of three times five years. Some leases contain a clause under which the rent can be increased in line with market conditions.

During the financial year, income of € 61,122 thousand (previous year: € 58,504 thousand) was earned from letting property, plant and equipment and investment property.

The table below is a maturity analysis of the receivables from operating leases and shows the undiscounted lease payments to be received after the end of the reporting period.

Due dates of receivables from operating leases

in € thousand

 

31.12.2021

 

31.12.2020

Up to 1 year

 

42,348

 

32,412

1 year to 2 years

 

28,537

 

27,739

2 years to 3 years

 

24,524

 

17,633

3 years to 4 years

 

21,546

 

13,666

4 years to 5 years

 

19,218

 

11,177

Over 5 years

 

44,701

 

43,021

 

 

180,874

 

145,648

From the lessor’s perspective, there are no lease agreements categorised as finance leases.

IFRS

International financial reporting standards.

Terminal

In maritime logistics, a terminal is a facility where freight transported by various modes of transport is handled.

Investments

Payments for investments in property, plant and equipment, investment property and intangible assets.