Earnings position

Container throughput at the HHLA container terminals decreased year-on-year by 5.7 % to 4,869 thousand TEU (previous year: 5,165 thousand TEU). This is largely due to the discontinuation of seaborne handling at the terminal in Odessa since 24 February 2022 as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the container terminals in Hamburg, the development was affected on the one hand by limited handling capacity due to the high utilisation of warehouse capacity owing to the marked rise in dwell times for import and export containers. On the other hand, container throughput was also impacted by reduced cargo volumes from the North America and, above all, Far East shipping regions – with the exception of China.

There were significant decreases at the international terminals. Increased cargo volumes at HHLA TK Estonia and HHLA PLT Italy were unable to offset the loss in handling volume from the Odessa container terminal.

Container transport rose slightly by 0.9 % to 1,266 thousand TEU (previous year: 1,254 thousand TEU). In a consistently challenging market environment, the significant decrease in road transport was offset by moderate growth in rail transport – due in part to a rise in routes to and from Poland.

The HHLA Group’s revenue rose by 8.7 % to € 1,172.7 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 1,078.9 million). All segments contributed to this growth. The positive development was largely due to the further rise in storage fees at the container terminals caused by supply chain bottlenecks, as well as further increases in the rail share of HHLA’s intermodal transport and temporary surcharges to compensate proportionally for the significant rise in energy prices.

In its Container, Intermodal and Logistics segments, the listed Port Logistics subgroup generated revenue of € 1,145.8 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 1,057.5 million). This increase was largely in line with the trend for the Group as a whole. The non-listed Real Estate subgroup posted revenue of € 32.9 million (previous year: € 27.6 million).

Other operating income increased by 20.3 % to € 34.8 million (previous year: € 28.9 million). The refund of energy costs in the rail sector and of additional track costs for rail transport had a positive impact on this development.

Operating expenses rose by 10.7 % to € 1,054.1 million (previous year: € 952.1 million). While depreciation and amortisation and personnel expenses rose moderately, there was a strong increase in material expenses and other operating expenses. The cost of materials was not only affected by higher energy prices but also by operational interruptions to rail transport due to storm damage in February and construction work on the German rail infrastructure, as well as the disruptions to international transport chains. Among other things, other operating expenses were burdened by increased costs for consultancy and services for ongoing projects. Personnel expenses were primarily impacted by the very high storage load at the container terminals and the collective wage increases agreed in the third quarter. Furthermore, in the previous year, allocations to the restructuring provision were higher than in the reporting period, during which restructuring provisions were partially reversed in particular due to interest rates. The increase in depreciation and amortisation was linked to the valuation allowance required in the area of new business activities.

The operating result (EBIT) decreased by € 2.0 million or 1.2 % to € 160.1 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 162.1 million). The EBIT margin amounted to 13.7 % (previous year: 15.0 %). In the Port Logistics subgroup, EBIT declined by 4.0 % to € 145.3 million (previous year: €  151.3 million). In the Real Estate subgroup, EBIT increased by 38.7 % to € 14.6 million (previous year: € 10.5 million).

Net expenses from the financial result rose by € 1.0 million or 5.0 % to € 21.8 million (previous year: € 20.8 million).

At 32.1 %, the Group’s effective tax rate was higher than in the previous year (previous year: 28.7 %).

Profit after tax decreased by 6.8 %, from € 100.7 million to € 93.9 million. Profit after tax and minority interests was significantly lower than in the previous year at € 69.8 million (previous year: € 79.4 million). Earnings per share amounted to € 0.93 (previous year: € 1.06). Earnings per share of the listed Port Logistics subgroup were € 0.85 (previous year: € 1.02). Earnings per share of the non-listed Real Estate subgroup were up year-on-year at € 3.16 (previous year: € 2.34). The return on capital employed (ROCE) amounted to 9.4 % (previous year: 10.2 %).