Earnings position

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Key figures
in € million	1–9 \| 2021	1–9 \| 2020	Change
Revenue	1,078.9	959.9	12.4 %
EBITDA	290.1	231.5	25.3 %
EBITDA margin in %	26.9	24.1	2.8 pp
EBIT	162.1	107.1	51.3 %
EBIT margin in %	15.0	11.2	3.8 pp
Profit after tax and minority interests	79.4	37.2	113.5 %
ROCE in %	10.2	6.9	3.3 pp

Container handling increased slightly by 1.6 % year-on-year to 5,165 thousand TEU (previous year: 5,086 thousand TEU). The loss of a Far East service in May 2020 was more than offset by the positive development of cargo volumes in the Far East and North and South America shipping regions as well as by the acquisition of an additional feeder service for the Baltic region in the third quarter. The international terminals recorded moderate growth in throughput volumes during the reporting period.

Container transport increased strongly by 11.1 % to 1,254 thousand TEU (previous year: 1,129 thousand TEU). The rise was confined to rail transport, which continued to benefit from the recovery in cargo volumes that had already started in the second half of 2020.

The HHLA Group’s revenue increased by 12.4 % to € 1,078.9 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 959.9 million). This was mainly the result of a temporary spike in storage fees in the Container segment and the positive development of rail transport volumes.

Other operating income decreased by 5.6 % to € 28.9 million (previous year: € 30.6 million). In the previous year, a liability from a contingent consideration agreed as part of the acquisition of Bionic Production GmbH was derecognised in profit and loss as a result of a new agreement with the seller. This amount had a significant effect on the decrease in other operating income.

Operating expenses rose by 7.4 % to € 952.1 million (previous year: € 886.8 million). While the increase in other operating expenses was largely in line with revenue growth, there was a significant increase in the cost of materials and personnel expenses and a slight rise in depreciation and amortisation. The marked increase in other operating expenses was due to higher expenses for consultancy and services for ongoing projects, primarily the restructuring of the Container segment and new activities in the Logistics segment.

The operating result (EBIT) improved by € 55.0 million or 51.3 % to € 162.1 million during the reporting period (previous year: € 107.1 million). The EBIT margin amounted to 15.0 % (previous year: 11.2 %). In the Port Logistics subgroup, EBIT increased by 56.7 % to € 151.3 million (previous year: € 96.6 million). In the Real Estate subgroup, EBIT climbed 2.0 % to € 10.5 million (previous year: € 10.3 million).

Net expenses from the financial result fell by € 4.8 million or 18.6 % to € 20.8 million (previous year: € 25.6 million).

Profit after tax increased by 76.0 %, from € 57.2 million to € 100.7 million. There was a strong year-on-year increase in profit after tax and minority interests to € 79.4 million (previous year: € 37.2 million). Earnings per share amounted to € 1.06 (previous year: € 0.51). The listed Port Logistics subgroup achieved earnings per share of € 1.02 (previous year: € 0.45). Earnings per share of the non-listed Real Estate subgroup were also up year-on-year at € 2.34 (previous year: € 2.19). The return on capital employed (ROCE) amounted to 10.2 % (previous year: 6.9 %).