Earnings position

Container throughput at HHLA’s container terminals decreased year-on-year by 18.6 % to 1,416 thousand TEU (previous year: 1,740 thousand TEU). At the container terminals in Hamburg, the decline was mainly due to significantly lower volumes in the Far East shipping region, and in particular China. Volumes to and from Russia also fell strongly as a result of the sanctions imposed by the EU in the previous year.

The strong decrease at the international terminals was primarily attributable to the official suspension of seaborne handling at the terminal in Odessa following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Only grain ships covered by the Black Sea Grain Initiative are being handled at Container Terminal Odessa (CTO).

There was a significant decrease in container transport of 5.4 % to 408 thousand TEU (previous year: 431 thousand TEU). A moderate decline in road transport contrasted with a strong decrease in rail transport, particularly on routes to northern German seaports.

The HHLA Group’s revenue fell by 5.6 % to € 364.7 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 386.2 million). The main reasons for this were the sharp decline in volumes and the decrease in storage fees at the Hamburg container terminals as well as the suspension of seaborne handling at the Odessa terminal. With regard to rail transport, the strong rise in energy prices and the resulting related price adjustment led to an increase in revenue.

In its Container, Intermodal and Logistics segments, the listed Port Logistics subgroup generated revenue of € 355.1 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 377.5 million). This decrease almost matched the trend for the Group as a whole. The non-listed Real Estate subgroup posted revenue of € 11.6 million (previous year: € 10.7 million).

Other operating income rose by 42.9 % to € 17.7 million (previous year: € 12.4 million).

Operating expenses increased by 4.6 % to € 362.5 million (previous year: € 346.6 million). Whereas personnel expenses fell slightly, there was a moderate increase in depreciation and amortisation, a significant rise in the cost of materials and a strong increase in other operating expenses. The decrease in personnel expenses was largely related to the downward trend in performance data. The increase in depreciation and amortisation resulted from the expansion of business in rail transport and from capitalisations following the completion of project development in the Speicherstadt historical warehouse district. With regard to the cost of materials, increased costs for the purchase of services, especially energy costs, impacted rail transport. The sharp rise in other operating expenses resulted mainly from increased maintenance expenses at the Hamburg container terminals.

The operating result (EBIT) decreased by € 30.8 million or 57.3 % to € 22.9 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 53.7 million). The EBIT margin amounted to 6.3 % (previous year: 13.9 %). In the Port Logistics subgroup, EBIT fell by 62.5 % to € 18.5 million (previous year: € 49.2 million), and in the Real Estate subgroup by 1.7 % to € 4.3 million (previous year: € 4.4 million).

Net expenses from the financial result increased by € 1.8 million or 23.5 % to € 9.3 million (previous year: € 7.6 million).

At 43.7 %, the Group’s effective tax rate was higher than in the previous year (previous year: 33.0 %). This increase in the tax rate in the first quarter of 2023 was mainly due to the negative result of the tax entity in the A division of HHLA and the associated impact on the tax expense.

Profit after tax decreased by 75.3 %, from € 30.9 million to € 7.6 million. Profit after tax and minority interests was significantly down on the previous year at € 2.8 million (previous year: € 22.8 million). Earnings per share amounted to € 0.04 (previous year: € 0.30). Earnings per share of the listed Port Logistics subgroup were € 0.00 (previous year: € 0.28). Earnings per share of the non-listed Real Estate subgroup were slightly down year-on-year at € 0.90 (previous year: € 0.93). The return on capital employed (ROCE) amounted to 4.0 % (previous year: 9.5 %).