HHLA share

DAX record despite German recession

On the German markets, 2024 was characterised by a mix of optimism and uncertainty. In the first quarter, the German share index (DAX) rose due to strong international economic data, solid labour market figures and upbeat market sentiment. Highly export-oriented companies benefited from an improved global economy. In the second quarter, the DAX reached a record high of 18,869 points before geopolitical uncertainty and inflation concerns ushered in a more volatile phase. The third quarter was defined by global uncertainties, particularly due to the weakening global economy and consistently high inflation, which dampened market performance and triggered sell-offs. However, a recovery set in during the fourth quarter as inflation began to stabilise, fuelling hopes of a potential interest rate cut by the central banks. Furthermore, positive company reports, particularly form the technology sector, provided stability.

The DAX exceeded the 20,000-point mark for the first time on 3 December 2024 and closed the year up 18.8 % at 19,909 points. By contrast, the SDAX was down 1.8 % at year-end and closed at 13,711 points on 30 December 2024.

Share price development 2024

Sideways trend for HHLA share

In light of the planned strategic investment by Mediterranean Shipping Holding Company (MSC) in HHLA, there was little movement in the price of the HHLA share on the whole. The HHLA share began the year at € 16.76 and remained more or less stable at slightly above the offer price of € 16.75 until mid-May. Following publication of the results for the first quarter of 2024, the share price began to climb and exceeded the € 18 mark at times. In the run-up to the Annual General Meeting, the share reached its year-high up to this point of € 18.34. Following the Annual General Meeting in mid-June and the dividend payout the next day, the share traded at a corresponding discount and once again fell below € 17. The share price subsequently only moved sideways within a range of € 16.70 to € 17. Once the conditions precedent stipulated in the takeover bid were fulfilled, the share price briefly rose again and reached a year-high of € 18.66 on 26 November 2024 before quickly dropping again to the offer price. At the end of the year, the HHLA share price stood at € 17.68. This represents a year-on-year increase of 5.5 %. For more information on the share price performance and the HHLA share, please visit www.hhla.de/investors.

MSC acquires stake in HHLA

On 13 September 2023, HHLA was informed by its majority shareholder, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (FHH), that it had come to an understanding with MSC as part of an investment agreement concerning a strategic investment in HHLA. According to the agreement, the City of Hamburg will continue to be the majority shareholder and will in future run the company together with MSC. To this end, the City of Hamburg intends to maintain a stake of 50.1 %, with MSC holding a stake of up to 49.9 %. The public takeover bid with the respective offer document was published on 23 October 2023 by MSC on the website www.poh-offer.de. For the successful conclusion of the investment agreement, the bid required various official approvals and the consent of the Hamburg Parliament.

After the Hamburg Parliament had agreed to the strategic investment in September 2024, it was approved by the European Commission in October. With the approval of the Ukrainian merger control authority in mid-November, all necessary approvals had been obtained for the transaction to be completed. The class A shares tendered to MSC thus far were transferred to the bidder on payment of the offer price.

On 28 November 2024, the City of Hamburg and MSC contributed all their class A shares in HHLA as part of a capital increase against contributions in kind to the investment company Port of Hamburg Beteiligungsgesellschaft SE. Once the shares had been transferred, the transaction was closed.

Shareholder structure for listed class A shares

as of 31.12.2024

Against this backdrop, the shareholder base changed significantly during the 2024 financial year. With respect to the listed class A shares, Port of Hamburg Beteiligungsgesellschaft SE (PoH) was the largest shareholder with a stake of 93.78 %. As of 31 December 2024, MSC also held 0.05 % of the company’s class A shares indirectly via SAS Shipping Agencies Services Sàrl (SAS). The free float portion of class A shares therefore decreased over the course of the year to 6.17 % (previous year: 7.6 %).

In terms of the HHLA Group’s share capital, PoH held 90.40 % and  SAS 0.05 % of the shares in HHLA as of 31 December 2024. The free float portion corresponds to 5.95 % of the company’s share capital. For more information on the shareholder structure, please visit the HHLA website. https://hhla.de/en/investors/share/shareholder-structure

Virtual Annual General Meeting 2024

The Annual General Meeting was once again held as a virtual event on 13 June 2024. The shareholders formally approved the actions of HHLA’s Executive Board and Supervisory Board for the 2023 financial year with a large majority. The proposal of the Supervisory Board and Executive Board to issue a dividend of € 0.08 per listed class A share (previous year: € 0.75) was also approved. HHLA distributed dividends to its class A shareholders totalling € 5.8 million (previous year: € 54.4 million). The dividend payout ratio of 67 % was therefore at the upper end of the dividend payout range of 50 to 70 % of the annual net profit after minority interests. The dividend was paid out to the shareholders on 17 June 2024. Based on its closing price of € 16.80 on the day of the Annual General Meeting, the HHLA share achieved a dividend yield of 0.5 %.

Dividend proposal for the 2024 financial year

Dividend per listed class A share

in € / payout ratio in %

At the Annual General Meeting, the HHLA Executive Board and Supervisory Board will propose a dividend of € 0.16 per dividend-entitled class A share (previous year: € 0.08). The distribution amount would then total € 11.6 million (previous year: € 5.8 million).

The distribution ratio amounts to 50%. HHLA therefore confirms its dividend policy of distributing between 50 and 70 % of the Port Logistics subgroup’s net profit for the year after minority interests to its shareholders, where possible.

Sustainability reporting and ratings

As a responsible company, HHLA has been reporting extensively on its non-financial performance since 2011 and has been submitting its non-financial statement as part of the Group management report since 2022. HHLA’s reporting goes beyond the legally required information and is essentially based on the internationally recognised reporting standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Non-financial reporting

HHLA also champions the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations. Corporate and sustainability strategy

Based on this information, HHLA’s sustainability credentials are regularly evaluated by ESG ratings agencies, such as MSCI, ISS-oekom, S&P Global Ratings ESG and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). In the CDP ranking for the 2023 financial year, HHLA achieved a “B” rating. https://hhla.de/en/investors/equity-story/esg-investments