Earnings position

Container throughput at the HHLA container terminals increased moderately year-on-year by 3.7 % to 1,740 thousand TEU (previous year: 1,677 thousand TEU). The positive development at the terminals in Hamburg was essentially driven by an increase in the Far East shipping region – China in particular. In addition, the acquisition of a feeder service for the Baltic Sea sea region in the third quarter of 2021 and another two services in the first quarter of 2022 led to strong growth in feeder traffic volumes. This more than offset the collapse in volumes to and from Russia in March 2022 as a result of the sanctions imposed by the EU.

Throughput volumes at the international terminals fell significantly in the reporting period. This was due to the significant decline in cargo volumes at the terminal in Odessa after operations there were suspended by the authorities at the end of February following the Russian invasion.

Container transport also increased moderately by 3.1 % to 431 thousand TEU (previous year: 418 thousand TEU). A significant drop in road transport was opposed by substantial growth in rail transport.

HHLA Group revenue rose by 10.7 % to € 386.2 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 348.7 million). All segments contributed to this growth, which was stronger than the increases in the performance data. This was caused by a further rise in storage fees in the Container segment as a result of the backlog in the supply chain and by a further increase in the share of rail transport within the Intermodal segment.

Other operating income rose by 41.2 % to € 12.4 million (previous year: € 8.8 million). This increase was largely due to a refund of traction energy costs and additional route costs for rail transportation.

The 10.8 % rise in operating expenses to € 346.6 million (previous year: € 312.9 million) was virtually on a par with revenue growth. However, the degree of increase varied widely across the different types of expenses: whereas depreciation and amortisation were up only slightly, personnel expenses rose considerably as a result of higher container volumes and in particular the increase in personnel necessitated by maximum storage capacity utilisation. There was a significant increase in the cost of materials and other operating expenses. In addition to rising electricity and energy prices, the cost of materials was impacted by interruptions due to storm damage and disruptions to rail transport chains. Other operating expenses were influenced by increased costs for consultancy and services for ongoing projects.

The operating result (EBIT) rose by € 7.4 million or 15.9 % to € 53.7 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 46.3 million). The EBIT margin amounted to 13.9 % (previous year: 13.3 %). In the Port Logistics subgroup, EBIT rose by 13.6 % to € 49.2 million (previous year: € 43.3 million). In the Real Estate subgroup, EBIT climbed 51.1 % to € 4.4 million (previous year: € 2.9 million).

Net expenses from the financial result increased by € 0.8 million or 11.5 % to € 7.6 million (previous year: € 6.8 million).

Profit after tax was up 9.7 %, from € 28.2 million to € 30.9 million. Profit after tax and minority interests rose significantly to € 22.8 million (previous year: € 21.3 million). Earnings per share amounted to € 0.30 (previous year: € 0.29). The listed Port Logistics subgroup achieved earnings per share of € 0.28 (previous year: € 0.27). Earnings per share of the non-listed Real Estate subgroup were up strongly year-on-year at € 0.93 (previous year: € 0.63). The return on capital employed (ROCE) amounted to 9.5 % (previous year: 8.7 %).