Liquidity analysis
in € million |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Financial funds as of 01.01. |
|
242.3 |
|
171.5 |
Cash flow from operating activities |
|
195.9 |
|
224.4 |
Cash flow from investing activities |
|
- 299.0 |
|
- 251.5 |
Free cash flow |
|
- 103.1 |
|
- 27.1 |
Cash flow from financing activities |
|
146.2 |
|
97.7 |
Change in financial funds |
|
43.2 |
|
70.6 |
Change in financial funds due to exchange rates |
|
0 |
|
0.2 |
Financial funds as of 31.12. |
|
285.6 |
|
242.3 |
Short-term deposits |
|
20.0 |
|
0 |
Available liquidity |
|
305.6 |
|
242.3 |
In the reporting period, cash flow from operating activities of € 195.9 million (previous year: € 224.4 million) mainly comprised earnings before interest and taxes of € 134.3 million (previous year: € 109.4 million) and write-downs and write-ups on non-financial assets of € 174.8 million (previous year: € 178.4 million). The main items with an opposing effect were lower income tax payments of € 47.7 million (previous year: € 55.9 million) and increased trade receivables and other assets of € 54.9 million (previous year: decrease of € 50.6 million).
Investing activities led to a cash outflow of € 299.0 million (previous year: € 251.5 million). This chiefly related to payments for investments in property, plant and equipment and investment property amounting to € 244.7 million (previous year: € 258.4 million).
Free cash flow – the total cash flow from operating and investing activities – decreased to € - 103.1 million (previous year: € - 27.1 million).
Cash flow from financing activities amounted to € 146.2 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 97.7 million) and mainly comprised newly taken out financial loans of € 309.4 million (previous year: € 248.5 million). There were opposing effects from dividend payments and settlement obligations to shareholders of the parent company totalling € 11.8 million (previous year: € 60.3 million) and to non-controlling interests totalling € 26.1 million (previous year: € 43.9 million), as well as from repayments on bank loans totalling € 70.5 million (previous year: € 34.2 million) and payments for the redemption of lease liabilities totalling € 54.1 million (previous year: € 51.2 million). In the 2024 financial year, there were no proceeds from reductions in interests in fully consolidated companies (previous year: € 47.1 million).
The HHLA Group had sufficient liquidity as of year-end 2024. There were no liquidity bottlenecks in the course of the financial year. Financial funds totalled € 285.6 million as of 31 December 2024 (31 December 2023: € 242.3 million). Including all short-term deposits, the Group’s available liquidity at year-end 2024 amounted to € 305.6 million (31 December 2023: € 242.3 million). As of 31 December 2024, available liquidity comprised cash pooling receivables from HGV Hamburger Gesellschaft für Vermögens- und Beteiligungsmanagement mbH amounting to € 54.8 million (31 December 2023: € 44.8 million) as well as cash, cash equivalents and short-term deposits of € 250.8 million (31 December 2023: € 197.5 million).