Container segment

In the 2024 reporting year, container throughput at HHLA’s container terminals increased slightly year-on-year by 0.9 % to 5,970 thousand standard containers (TEU) (previous year: 5,917 thousand TEU).

Container throughput

in thousand TEU

Container throughput at the Hamburg container terminals was largely unchanged from the previous year at 5,686 thousand TEU (previous year: 5,687 thousand TEU). Whereas volumes in overseas traffic decreased for the Far East and Middle East shipping regions, there was strong volume growth for certain routes of the North and South America shipping regions, particularly for the United States. Temporary route adjustments caused by the military conflict in the Red Sea also led to additional cargo volume with other European seaports, particularly in Belgium and Greece. Feeder traffic volumes increased moderately year-on-year. In addition to a recovery in Polish traffic, there was a particularly strong rise in container throughput within Germany, as well as from Latvia and the United Kingdom. By contrast, Finnish and Danish cargo volumes declined. The proportion of seaborne handling by feeders amounted to 19.4 % (previous year: 18.6 %).

The international container terminals reported a strong rise in throughput volume of 23.1 % to 284 thousand TEU (previous year: 231 thousand TEU). This was due to strong volume growth at the multifunctional terminal HHLA TK Estonia and the resumption of seaborne handling at Container Terminal Odessa (CTO) in the third quarter of 2024. This more than offset the fall in throughput volume at PLT Italy in Trieste caused by ships being rerouted or cancelled as a consequence of the military conflict in the Red Sea.

Segment revenue climbed significantly by 9.1 % in the financial year to € 773.3 million (previous year: € 708.8 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. Moreover, the positive trend at HHLA’s international container terminals contributed to the increase in revenue. In addition to strong revenue from grain transport and the resumption of container ship handling in Odessa mentioned above, this was attributable to volume growth of the HHLA TK Estonia terminal in Tallinn, as well as higher revenue at the multifunctional terminal in Trieste.

There was a significant net increase in other operating income and expenses included in the operating result (together defined as EBIT costs) of 5.9 % in the reporting period. This was primarily attributable to a rise in personnel expenses – due in part to union-negotiated wage settlements – as well as to a significant increase in energy costs and additional expenses for purchased services. There were strong increases in certain EBIT costs at the multifunctional terminals in Trieste and Tallinn, as well as at the container terminal in Odessa, both in isolation and in comparison with the previous year. The measures introduced in March 2023 to safeguard earnings at the Hamburg container terminals, as well as further extensive transformation processes within the Container segment, had an opposing effect. There was also a strong fall in expenses for external maintenance services, a full reversal of non-contractually fixed restructuring provisions and a substantial decline in depreciation and amortisation expenses in connection with a remeasurement of the useful economic life of certain assets in the asset class “Technical equipment and machinery”. As a result, some of the additional expenses and cost increases could be offset and the negative impact on earnings reduced.

Due to the improved revenue trend, the operating result (EBIT) therefore increased by 66.6 % to € 78.7 million (previous year: € 47.2 million). The EBIT margin rose by 3.5 percentage points to 10.2 % (previous year: 6.7 %).

During the reporting year, HHLA continued to invest in climate-friendly, efficient and modern terminal technology with a view to improving energy efficiency and thus also future cost-effectiveness. Three pre-assembled container gantry cranes were delivered to Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) in December. The new container gantry cranes will be put into operation over the course of 2025, further boosting the level of automation at the terminal. Manufacturing has also begun on the next delivery lot. The first nine of a total of 19 tractor units ordered were delivered in 2024. Work on the provision of the necessary e-infrastructure continued. Delivery of the highly automated rail gantry crane, ordered in the first half of 2024, is expected in mid-2025. Container Terminal Burchardkai (CTB) continued to drive the expansion and commissioning of additional automatic blocks, as well as construction work in the AGV area. Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT) took on some of the straddle carriers decommissioned at CTB as part of its efficiency programme in order to keep its own fleet cost-effective. A hydrogen refuelling point was also opened there in July as part of a pilot project. The Clean Port & Logistics cluster (CPL) aims to test the operation of heavy goods vehicles in the port using hydrogen as a fuel source. The testing facility at CTT is another milestone on the path to decarbonising logistics.