Container segment

In the first quarter of 2025, container throughput at HHLA’s container terminals made good progress with significant year-on-year growth of 5.5 % to 1,544 thousand standard containers (TEU) (previous year: 1,464 thousand TEU).

Container throughput at the Hamburg container terminals was up 5.1 % on the previous year at 1,472 thousand TEU (previous year: 1,400 thousand TEU). Whereas volumes in overseas traffic decreased for the North America and Middle East shipping regions, there was strong volume growth for the Far East shipping region, particularly for China. Additional cargo volume was also recorded for other European seaports, particularly in Belgium, France and Portugal. This was due to temporary route adjustments – which continue to apply – caused by the military conflict in the Red Sea. There was strong year-on-year growth in feeder traffic volumes. In addition to Finnish traffic, there was also a strong rise in container throughput within Germany, as well as from Poland. Meanwhile, cargo volumes from Latvia were down. The proportion of seaborne handling by feeders amounted to 20.0 % (previous year: 18.8 %).

The international container terminals reported a strong increase in throughput volume of 13.8 % to 72 thousand TEU (previous year: 63 thousand TEU). In addition to the slight volume growth at the multifunctional terminal HHLA TK Estonia, this was also due in particular to the resumption of seaborne handling at Container Terminal Odessa (CTO) in the third quarter of 2024. This more than compensated for the reduction in throughput volume at PLT Italy in Trieste caused by ships being rerouted or cancelled as a consequence of the military conflict in the Red Sea.

Segment revenue rose strongly by 11.4 % in the reporting period to € 206.4 million (previous year: € 185.3 million). This was mainly due to significantly longer dwell times for containers handled at the Hamburg container terminals, which continued to have a positive impact on storage fees. The positive trend at HHLA’s international container terminals also contributed to the increase in revenue. Alongside the resumption of container ship handling in Odessa mentioned above, this was primarily attributable to the positive volume trend of the HHLA TK Estonia terminal in Tallinn, as well as increased revenue from storage fees at the multifunctional terminal in Trieste.

There was a significant net increase in other operating income and expenses included in the operating result (together defined as EBIT costs) of 7.9 % in the reporting period. This was primarily attributable to a rise in personnel expenses, due in part to union-negotiated wage settlements, as well as to the additional deployment of employees from the GHB pool, a strong increase in consultancy and services, and a strong rise in expenses for purchased services. The measures introduced in March 2023 to safeguard earnings at the Hamburg container terminals, as well as further extensive transformation processes within the Container segment, had an opposing effect. There was also a decline in expenses for external maintenance services. The significant decrease in depreciation and amortisation expenses was largely due to the remeasurement of the economic lives of certain assets in the asset class “Technical equipment and machinery”.

Due to the improved revenue trend, the operating result (EBIT) therefore increased by 68.3 % to € 18.0 million (previous year: € 10.7 million). The EBIT margin rose by 2.9 percentage points to 8.7 % (previous year: 5.8 %).

At Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA), the installation of three new container gantry cranes is proceeding on schedule. They are to be put into operation from the second half of 2025 and will boost the level of automation at the terminal. At the same time, manufacturing has also begun on the next delivery lot. Moreover, the electrical infrastructure is being expanded: nine out of 19 emission-free tractor units ordered were delivered in 2024 and put into operation during the reporting period. The highly automated rail gantry crane ordered in 2024 is also due to arrive in mid-2025.

Following on from its activities last year, Container Terminal Burchardkai (CTB) continued to drive the expansion and commissioning of additional automated blocks, as well as construction work in the AGV area. At Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT), a hydrogen refuelling point was approved by the TÜV inspection authority. As part of the Clean Port & Logistics innovation cluster, hydrogen technology is being tested there – currently with one tractor unit. This is to be expanded to include a forklift and a straddle carrier from June 2025. A new rotating spreader has also been delivered, which will be able to handle large-volume project cargo in future.