Earnings position
During the first nine months of 2024, container throughput at the HHLA container terminals increased year-on-year by 0.9 % to 4,496 thousand TEU (previous year: 4,455 thousand TEU). While the Hamburg container terminals recorded volume increases in the North and South America shipping regions, in the European seaports and in feeder traffic, there were decreases in the Far East and Middle East shipping regions. Throughput volumes at the international container terminals rose strongly during the reporting period. This was due to strong volume growth at the HHLA TK Estonia multifunctional terminal and the resumption of seaborne handling at the Container Terminal Odessa in the third quarter of 2024.
Container transport rose significantly by 8.1 % to 1,321 thousand TEU (previous year: 1,222 thousand TEU). This was largely due to the acquisition of a majority stake in Roland Spedition GmbH and a strong increase in rail transport volumes in the German-speaking region.
The HHLA Group’s revenue climbed by 8.5 % to € 1,182.9 million during the reporting period (previous year: € 1,090.0 million). The significant growth in the Container segment was due to a strong rise in storage fees at the Hamburg container terminals and the positive revenue development of the international container terminals. In addition to volume growth, the strong increase in revenue of the Intermodal segment was mainly due to routine price adjustments and a larger rail share of transport volumes.
The listed Port Logistics subgroup recorded a significant rise in revenue to € 1,155.9 million (previous year: € 1,061.3 million) in the reporting period. In the non-listed Real Estate subgroup, revenue amounted to € 34.3 million (previous year: € 35.0 million).
Other operating income decreased by 20.3 % to € 36.5 million (previous year: € 45.8 million). The prior-year figure included income from the reversal of other liabilities for ship delays at the Hamburg container terminals.
Operating expenses increased by 6.3 % to € 1,134.5 million (previous year: € 1,067.2 million). There was a strong increase in the cost of materials. Alongside improved performance data and the newly consolidated companies, this rise was attributable in particular to increased electricity expenses. Personnel expenses also rose as a result of the expansion of rail transport business, the impact of wage increases and the growth of business. A partial reversal of the restructuring provision had a positive effect on personnel expenses. There was a moderate decrease in other operating expenses and depreciation and amortisation. With regard to other operating expenses, this was mainly due to reduced maintenance expenses at the Hamburg container terminals, while the decrease in depreciation and amortisation resulted from a remeasurement of the useful economic life of certain assets in the asset class “Technical equipment and machinery”.
The operating result (EBIT) rose by 23.2 % to € 93.2 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 75.6 million). The EBIT margin amounted to 7.9 % (previous year: 6.9 %). In the Port Logistics subgroup, EBIT increased by 31.8 % to € 81.5 million (previous year: € 61.8 million), while in the Real Estate subgroup it decreased by 15.4 % to € 11.4 million (previous year: € 13.5 million).
Net expenses from financial income rose by € 2.1 million, or 6.5 %, to € 34.1 million (previous year: € 32.0 million).
At 31.5 %, the Group’s effective tax rate was lower than the prior-year figure (previous year: 33.6 %). The decrease in the tax rate is partly attributable to the normalisation of earnings, particularly at domestic affiliates, with a corresponding tax expense.
Profit after tax increased by 39.9 % from € 29.0 million in the previous year to € 40.5 million. There was a year-on-year increase in profit after tax and minority interests to € 23.1 million (previous year: € 11.9 million). Earnings per share amounted to € 0.31 (previous year: € 0.16). Earnings per share for the listed Port Logistics subgroup were € 0.22 (previous year: € 0.04). Earnings per share of the non-listed Real Estate subgroup were down year-on-year at € 2.54 (previous year: € 3.25). The return on capital employed (ROCE) amounted to 5.0 % (previous year: 4.3 %).