The revenue and earnings performance of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) declined in the first three months of 2024. The market environment continues to be affected by ongoing crises and rising geopolitical tensions, which are suppressing economic development around the world. In addition, the military conflict in the Red Sea resulted in major delays to shipping and cancellations in European ports at the start of the year, which also had an impact on hinterland transport. As a result, Group revenue decreased slightly in the first quarter by 0.3 percent to € 363.6 million (previous year: € 364.7 million). Price increases triggered by inflation and one-off effects from last year caused the Group operating result (EBIT) to decrease by 23.9 percent to € 17.4 million (previous year: € 22.9 million). The EBIT margin amounted to 4.8 percent (previous year: 6.3 percent). Profit after tax and minority interests came to € - 1.1 million (previous year: € 2.8 million).
Angela Titzrath, CEO of HHLA: "The start of HHLA in 2024 was made even more difficult by the disruptions in the supply chains due to the situation in the Red Sea and the challenging economic environment. Ships were delayed at the ports, which in turn affected HHLA's container terminals and hinterland traffic. Despite the market uncertainties, HHLA has pushed ahead with its forward-looking transformation while investing in the expansion of its network and the modernisation of its facilities."
Port Logistics subgroup: performance January to March 2024
The listed Port Logistics subgroup recorded a slight decrease in revenue in the first three months to € 354.9 million (previous year: € 355.1 million). The operating result (EBIT) decreased by 25.6 percent to € 13.7 million (previous year: € 18.5 million) while the EBIT margin fell year-on-year by 1.3 percentage points to 3.9 %. In the previous year, income from the reversal of other liabilities linked to ship delays at the Hamburg container terminals had a positive effect on the operating result. Profit after tax and minority interests came to € - 3.4 million (previous year: € 0.4 million). Earnings per share thus amounted to € - 0.05.
Container throughput in the Container segment at HHLA's container terminals increased by 3.3 percent on the weak figure for the first three months of the previous year to 1,464 thousand standard containers (TEU) (previous year: 1,416 thousand TEU). At 1,400 thousand TEU, throughput volume at the Hamburg container terminals was up 2.9 percent on the same period of the previous year (previous year: 1,360 thousand TEU). The main driver of this positive development was the rise in volumes for the South, Central and North America shipping regions. Cargo volumes from the United States exhibited particularly strong growth. The throughput volume for the Far East shipping region continued to decline.
For more information: 
Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG
Bei St. Annen 1
20457 Hamburg, Deutschland
Tel.: +49 40 3088-0
Email:[email protected]