Intermodal segment

In the highly competitive market for container traffic in the hinterland of major seaports, HHLA’s transport companies recorded significantly lower volumes in the first quarter of 2023. Container transport decreased by a total of 5.4 % to 408 thousand standard containers (TEU) (previous year: 431 thousand TEU).

Rail transport fell year-on-year by 5.6 % to 340 thousand TEU (previous year: 361 thousand TEU). All the main routes were affected by the decrease, with the northern German seaports hit particularly hard. Only Rotterdam traffic managed a significant increase, albeit at a comparatively low level. There was a moderate decrease in road transport of 4.2 % to 68 thousand TEU (previous year: 71 thousand TEU).

With a year-on-year increase of 13.4 % to € 157.3 million (previous year: € 138.7 million), the development of revenue contrasted sharply with that of transport volumes. This was due to the rise in transport revenue in the previous year, which was adjusted to the increased costs for the purchase of services, in particular energy costs, at a later point in time.

The operating result (EBIT) decreased by 1.0 % to € 21.4 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 21.6 million). The EBIT margin fell by 2.0 percentage points to 13.6 % (previous year: 15.6 %). The main reason for the downward EBIT trend was the decrease in transport volumes. The previous year’s result had been adversely affected by storm damage in February and disruptions to international supply chains.