Earnings position
During the first three months of the year, container throughput at HHLA’s container terminals increased year-on-year by 3.3 % to 1,464 thousand TEU (previous year: 1,416 thousand TEU). This positive trend at the container terminals in Hamburg was mainly driven by increased volumes in the South, Central and North America shipping regions. Throughput at the international container terminals rose strongly in the first three months due to significant volume growth at the multifunctional terminal in Tallinn.
By contrast, there was a significant decrease in container transport of 5.5 % to 386 thousand TEU (previous year: 408 thousand TEU). Whereas road transport fell strongly, the decline in rail transport, and especially traffic with Koper and Polish traffic, was merely moderate.
The HHLA Group’s revenue decreased by 0.3 % to € 363.6 million during the reporting period (previous year: € 364.7 million). The decline in revenue in the Intermodal segment was chiefly attributable to lower transport volumes. By contrast, the Container segment posted a significant increase. In addition to higher container throughput, this was due to a temporary rise in storage fees resulting from longer dwell times for containers handled at the Hamburg container terminals. This, in turn, was attributable to the attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea, which led to shipping delays as the majority of vessels were rerouted around the southern tip of Africa for their own safety.
The listed Port Logistics subgroup recorded a slight fall in revenue to € 354.9 million (previous year: € 355.1 million) in the reporting period. In the non-listed Real Estate subgroup, revenue amounted to € 11.4 million (previous year: € 11.6 million).
Other operating income decreased by 43.7 % to € 10.0 million (previous year: € 17.7 million). In the previous year, this item included income from the reversal of other liabilities for ship delays at the Hamburg container terminals.
Operating expenses decreased by 0.6 % to € 360.2 million (previous year: € 362.5 million). Despite increased costs for electricity procurement, the cost of materials fell moderately in line with the downward trend in performance data. There was a significant increase in personnel expenses: the increase in the Container segment was mainly due to the rise in container throughput, while in the Intermodal segment it resulted from increased union wage rates and the expansion of business in rail traffic. By contrast, there was a significant decrease in other operating expenses due to lower maintenance expenses at the Hamburg container terminals. Depreciation and amortisation fell slightly.
The operating result (EBIT) declined by 23.9 % to € 17.4 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 22.9 million). The EBIT margin amounted to 4.8 % (previous year: 6.3 %). In the Port Logistics subgroup, EBIT fell by 25.6 % to € 13.7 million (previous year: € 18.5 million) and in the Real Estate subgroup fell by 17.0 % to € 3.6 million (previous year: € 4.3 million).
Net expenses from the financial result rose by € 2.5 million, or 26.5 %, to € 11.8 million (previous year: € 9.3 million).
At 42.0 %, the Group’s effective tax rate was below the prior-year level (previous year: 43.7 %). Among other things, the decrease in the tax rate is due to the disproportionately strong decline in tax expenses compared to the fall in earnings of Group companies.
Profit after tax decreased by 57.3 %, from € 7.6 million to € 3.3 million. Profit after tax and non-controlling interests was down on the previous year at € - 1.1 million (previous year: € 2.8 million). Earnings per share amounted to € -0.01 (previous year: € 0.04). Earnings per share for the listed Port Logistics subgroup were € -0.05 (previous year: € 0.00). Earnings per share of the non-listed Real Estate subgroup were down year-on-year at € 0.83 (previous year: € 0.90). The return on capital employed (ROCE) amounted to 2.8 % (previous year: 4.0 %).