Intermodal Segment

In the first nine months of 2017, HHLA’s transport companies achieved strong growth in the highly competitive market for container traffic in the hinterland of major seaports. Transport volumes rose by 6.8 % to 1,126 thousand standard containers (TEU), compared with 1,055 thousand TEU in the same period last year. In the reporting period, this trend was driven by growth in both rail and road transport. Compared with the prior-year quarter, rail transportation rose by a further 5.4 % to 861 thousand TEU (previous year: 818 thousand TEU). Road transport developed very positively with growth of 11.5 % to 265 thousand TEU (previous year: 237 thousand TEU) as a result of strong freight volumes in the greater Hamburg area.

With growth of 7.7 % to € 311.8 million (previous year: € 289.5 million), revenue slightly outperformed transport volumes. The marginal decline in rail’s share of HHLA’s total intermodal transportation from 77.5 % to 76.5 % was more than offset by longer transport distances in rail transport.

The operating result (EBIT) increased year-on-year to € 55.4 million (previous year: € 50.0 million) and thus outperformed the volume and revenue trend. In addition to changes in the route mix, the third quarter of 2017 was positively impacted by the improved relationship between import and export volumes compared to previous quarters and an associated rise in the utilisation of train capacities.