Container segment

Compared to the weak prior-year figure, container throughput at HHLA’s container terminals increased slightly by 0.9 % to 4,496 thousand standard containers (TEU) in the first nine months of 2024, (previous year: 4,455 thousand TEU).

With year-on-year growth of 0.2 % to 4,292 thousand TEU, container throughput at the Hamburg container terminals was largely unchanged (previous year: 4,286 thousand TEU). Whereas volumes in overseas traffic decreased for the Far East and Middle East shipping regions, there was strong volume growth for the North and South America shipping regions, particularly for the United States. Against the backdrop of temporary route adjustments caused by the military conflict in the Red Sea, there was also a positive trend in cargo volumes with other European seaports. Feeder traffic volumes were also up on the previous year. In addition to a recovery in Swedish and Polish traffic, there was a particularly strong rise in container throughput from Lithuania and within Germany. By contrast, Finnish and Danish cargo volumes declined. The proportion of seaborne handling by feeders amounted to 19.0 % (previous year: 18.4 %).

The international container terminals reported a strong increase in throughput volume of 20.2 % to 203 thousand TEU (previous year: 169 thousand TEU). This was due to strong volume growth at the multifunctional terminal HHLA TK Estonia and the resumption of seaborne handling at Container Terminal Odessa in the third quarter of 2024. This more than compensated for the reduction in throughput volume at PLT Italy in Trieste caused by ships being rerouted or cancelled as a consequence of the military conflict in the Red Sea.

Revenue rose significantly by 8.2 % to € 578.1 million in the reporting period (previous year: € 534.3 million). This was mainly due to longer dwell times for containers handled at the Hamburg container terminals, which continued to have a positive impact on storage fees. The positive trend at HHLA’s international container terminals also contributed to the increase in revenue. In addition to revenue from grain transport and the resumption of container ship handling in Odessa in the third quarter of 2024, this was attributable to the positive volume trend of the HHLA TK Estonia terminal in Tallinn, as well as increased revenue of the multifunctional terminal in Trieste.

There was a net increase in operating income and expenses included in the operating result (defined as EBIT costs) of 3.8 % in the reporting period. This was primarily attributable to a rise in personnel expenses, due in part to collective wage agreements, as well as to persistently lower other operating income and a strong increase in energy costs. In the same period of the previous year, repayments were also received from insurance aggregates, while major liabilities for impending claims in connection with ship delays at the Hamburg container terminals in 2022 were reversed.

However, the aforementioned cost increases in the first nine months of 2024 were offset to a large degree. Measures introduced in March 2023 to safeguard earnings at the Hamburg container terminals, as well as further transformation processes, played a major role in containing costs. There was also a strong fall in expenses for external maintenance services, a decrease in consultancy, service and insurance costs, a partial reversal of the restructuring provision and a substantial decline in depreciation and amortisation expenses in connection with a remeasurement of the useful economic life of certain assets in the asset class “Technical equipment and machinery”. EBIT costs at the multifunctional terminals in Trieste and Tallinn and at the container terminal in Odessa also rose in comparison with the same period last year.

As a result, the operating result (EBIT) increased by 87.1 % to € 51.0 million (previous year: € 27.3 million), largely due to the improved revenue trend. The EBIT margin rose by 3.7 percentage points to 8.8 % (previous year: 5.1 %).

HHLA continued to invest in climate-friendly and modern terminal technology in the current financial year with a view to improving energy efficiency and thus also future cost-effectiveness. The completion of the first delivery lot of new container gantry cranes continued at Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA). This will further enhance the already high level of automation. The first nine of a total of 19 tractor units ordered have been delivered. Work to develop further electric infrastructure at the terminal also began in the third quarter. The highly automated rail gantry crane ordered in the first half of the year is now also in production. Container Terminal Burchardkai (CTB) continued to drive the expansion and commissioning of additional automatic blocks, as well as construction work in the AGV area. Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT) took on some of the straddle carriers decommissioned at CTB as part of its efficiency programme in order to keep its own fleet cost-effective. The first hydrogen refuelling point was also opened there in July as part of a pilot project. The Clean Port & Logistics cluster (CPL) aims to test the operation of heavy goods vehicles in the port using hydrogen as a fuel source. The testing facility at CTT is another milestone on the path to the decarbonising of logistics.