Real Estate segment

According to the market report on office and commercial letting in Hamburg published by Grossmann & Berger in early July 2024, Hamburg’s office rental market continued to face a challenging economic environment in the second quarter. At the end of the first half of the year, around 205,000 m² had been let - 11.0 % down on the prior-year figure of around 230,000 m². At the end of the first six months, the vacancy rate stood at a new record high of 5.0 % (previous year: 4.0 %). 

Despite this weak market environment, however, HHLA’s properties in the Speicherstadt historical warehouse district and the fish market area maintained their stable trend with almost full occupancy in the first half of the current financial year.

Revenue fell slightly by 1.8 % to € 23.0 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 23.4 million). This was due to declining income in the fish market area following the demolition of cold-storage and warehouse facilities in preparation for a project, which could not be fully offset by revenue growth in the Speicherstadt historical warehouse district.

The cumulative operating result (EBIT) decreased strongly by 27.7 % to € 7.0 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 9.7 million). In addition to higher maintenance costs, the decrease was primarily due to expenses in connection with the successful reletting of space in the Speicherstadt historical warehouse district. Earnings were also burdened by costs for project-related preparatory work ahead of construction in the fish market area.