Container Segment

In the first half of 2018, HHLA’s container terminals handled a total of 3,631 thousand standard containers (TEU). This is 1.2 % more than in the previous year (previous year: 3,586 thousand TEU). Container throughput at HHLA’s three container terminals was raised by 0.9 % to 3,473 thousand TEU (previous year: 3,441 thousand TEU). This slight growth was mainly driven by the 4.1 % increase in Asia traffic. The rate of decline in feeder traffic was lower than in the first quarter. Compared with the same period last year, container throughput at the North Sea and Baltic Sea ports fell by 4.8 %. There was a corresponding decline in the feeder ratio of 1.4 percentage points to 23.6 % (previous year: 25.0 %). Container throughput at the Container Terminal Odessa continued to make good progress with year-on-year growth of 8.3 % to 158 thousand TEU in the first half of 2018 (previous year: 146 thousand TEU).

The slight volume growth of 1.2 % led to a 2.2 % increase in revenue to € 380.3 million compared with the first six months of 2017 (previous year: € 372.3 million). The slightly disproportional increase in relation to the volume trend is mainly attributable to increases in individual handling rates and to the lower feeder ratio. By contrast, the share of local cargo increased, especially rail-dependent throughput. Shorter container dwell times due to the improved punctuality of overseas services led to a slight fall in storage fees, which had risen significantly in the previous year due to the reorganisation of service structures. The average revenue per container handled at the quayside rose in total by 0.9 % year-on-year.

The segment’s EBIT costs increased by 2.6 %, thus also outstripping throughput volume. This was caused by the additional use of resources due to ship delays, as well as the considerable variation in capacity utilisation at the container terminals in Hamburg. Nevertheless, the operating result (EBIT) of € 68.2 million was on a par with the previous year. The EBIT margin decreased slightly to 17.9 % (previous year: 18.3 %).