Foreword
Dear shareholders,
2025 was not only an eventful year on the macroeconomic stage, but also for HHLA as a company. The global markets continued to suffer the vagaries of geopolitical tensions and political upheaval. Developments in US trade policy in particular had a noticeable effect on the global economy and world trade.
In this demanding environment, HHLA demonstrated its tenacity and achieved a positive performance overall: there was significant growth in container throughput at the terminals, as well as in container transport by road and rail. Container throughput at HHLA’s seaport terminals rose by a total of 5.4 %, and by 4.8 % in Hamburg. In the Intermodal segment, we achieved growth of 10.9 % – clear evidence of the growing significance of our hinterland transport services. Despite the fact that the positive trend slowed significantly in the second half of the year due to macroeconomic developments and the modernisation of our facilities in Hamburg, we still achieved revenue growth of nearly 10 % and reached our forecast EBIT range with a Group operating result of € 161 million. Heavily affected by one-off tax effects, Group profit after tax and minority interests amounted to € 10 million.
In addition to our financial results, another issue has been high on our agenda in recent weeks: the squeeze-out request announced in early January by Port of Hamburg Beteiligungsgesellschaft SE, HHLA’s majority shareholder. The amount of the cash settlement is currently being determined by an independent expert. The squeeze-out will then require the approval of the Annual General Meeting. The Executive Board will accompany this process in a responsible and constructive manner.
In the current financial year, we will continue to focus strongly on our core business, and above all on the modernisation of our Hamburg container terminals. In February, we put the Port of Hamburg’s first remote-controlled container gantry cranes into operation at HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder. By 2030, all remaining models will be replaced by cutting-edge, remote-controlled cranes. We are also making good progress with regard to the automation of our HHLA Container Terminal Burchardkai, where we have now successfully handled the first large vessels using automated guided vehicles. This project is due to be concluded in the current year.
We will continue to work towards making our processes more efficient and sustainable.
One central element remains the expansion of our hinterland network via our rail subsidiary METRANS. We announced the expansion of the terminal in Košice at the end of 2025 and laid the foundation stone for the new site in Szeged. Both terminals are set to become key hubs for intermodal traffic to and from south-eastern Europe.
The progress made so far in modernising our infrastructure and expanding our network also forms the basis for our expectations for the current financial year: overall, we expect a significantly positive development in 2026, buoyed by further growth in container throughput and container transport. We expect to see strong year-on-year revenue growth in the Port Logistics subgroup and are aiming for an operating result (EBIT) in the range of € 160 million to € 180 million. For the Real Estate subgroup, we expect revenue to remain stable at the prior-year level, albeit with a decrease in the operating result due to investments in projects and maintenance. At Group level, we anticipate capital expenditure in the range of € 430 million to € 480 million for 2026, most of which will be attributable to the Port Logistics subgroup.
All of our investments focus on reliability, efficiency and sustainability – always combined with our mission to continually increase customer satisfaction. We remain committed to this goal and are determined to pursue the path we have chosen.
Kind regards,
Jeroen Eijsink
Chairman of the Executive Board