Real Estate Segment

Hamburg’s office rental market stabilised in the second quarter of 2016 but once again fell short of the previous year. According to the market overview by Jones Lang LaSalle, 240,000 m² of space was let – some 6 % below the prior-year figure. One of the main reasons for this strong decline was the high proportion of owner-occupied properties in the previous year. According to the current forecast, this negative trend is expected to continue for the rest of the year.

By contrast, Hamburg’s vacancy rate at the end of the first six months of 5.9 % was still below the prior-year figure of 6.7 %. The trend forecast of Jones Lang LaSalle expects this development to remain stable over the next few months.

HHLA’s properties in the Speicherstadt historical warehouse district and the fish market area maintained their growth trajectory in the second quarter. With virtually full occupancy in both quarters, revenue rose by a further 3.8 % year on year to € 18.7 million in the first six months (previous year: € 18.0 million).

The operating result (EBIT) fell by 4.8 % to € 7.9 million (previous year: € 8.3 million). This was primarily due to higher maintenance expenses for the necessary refurbishment of rental space in the Speicherstadt historical warehouse district. Assuming the occupancy rate remains high, EBIT for the year as a whole is still expected to be on a par with the previous year.