Earnings Position

Key Figures

in € million

 

1–9 I 2016

 

1–9 I 2015

 

Change

Revenue

 

871.0

 

868.9

 

0.2 %

EBITDA

 

218.4

 

214.4

 

1.9 %

EBITDA margin in %

 

25.1

 

24.7

 

0.4 pp

EBIT

 

126.9

 

123.9

 

2.4 %

EBIT margin in %

 

14.6

 

14.3

 

0.3 pp

Profit after tax and minority interests

 

60.9

 

55.9

 

9.0 %

ROCE in %

 

12.8

 

12.7

 

0.1 pp

HHLA posted mixed performance data in the first nine months of 2016. At 4,924 thousand TEU, container throughput was down by 2.1 % year-on-year (previous year: 5,027 thousand TEU). However, the decline was significantly less pronounced than in the first half of the year. By contrast, transport volumes rose by 5.9 % to 1,055 thousand TEU (previous year: 996 thousand TEU).

The HHLA Group’s revenue increased slightly by 0.2 % in the period under review to € 871.0 million (previous year: € 868.9 million). This was primarily due to the volume-related increase in revenue from rail transportation.

The performance of the listed Port Logistics subgroup largely mirrored that of the HHLA Group. Revenue rose by 0.2 % to € 847.5 million (previous year: € 845.6 million). The non-listed Real Estate subgroup saw revenue rise by 1.8 % to € 28.0 million (previous year: € 27.5 million).

The increase in other operating income to € 44.3 million (previous year: € 27.5 million) is mainly attributable to the one-off effect from the termination of the lease for the Übersee-Zentrum.

Operating expenses rose by 1.8 % to € 794.8 million (previous year: € 780.4 million). These include the one-off expenses already recognised in the second quarter in connection with the scaling back of project and contract logistics activities.

The operating result (EBIT) increased by 2.4 % to € 126.9 million in the period under review (previous year: € 123.9 million). The EBIT margin was 14.6 % (previous year: 14.3 %). In the Port Logistics subgroup, EBIT rose by 3.7 % to € 115.1 million (previous year: € 111.0 million). In the Real Estate subgroup, EBIT declined by 8.9 % to € 11.5 million (previous year: € 12.7 million) as a result of maintenance work, among other factors.

Net expenses from the financial result fell by 28.7 % or € 6.3 million to € 15.6 million (previous year: € 21.9 million). This was mainly due to a reduction of € 4.2 million in negative exchange rate effects, which resulted almost exclusively from the devaluation of the Ukrainian currency. Interest paid to banks and other lenders also decreased.

The profit after tax and minority interests increased by 9.0 % year-on-year to € 60.9 million (previous year: € 55.9 million). Earnings per share rose accordingly by 9.0 % to € 0.84 (previous year: € 0.77). The listed Port Logistics subgroup achieved a 9.2 % increase in earnings per share to € 0.77 (previous year: € 0.70). Earnings per share of the non-listed Real Estate subgroup were also up on the prior-year figure at € 2.61 (previous year: € 2.43). The return on capital employed (ROCE) was 12.8 % and thus on a par with the previous year.