Hamburger Hafen und Logistik : HHLA reports strong start into 2021

The listed Port Logistics subgroup recorded a 4.4 percent rise in revenue to € 342.0 million in the first three months of 2021. The operating result (EBIT) increased significantly by 33.4 percent to € 43.3 million. The EBIT margin improved by 2.8 percentage points to 12.7 percent.

In the Container segment, the throughput volume decreased by 6.6 percent in the first quarter of 2021 to 1,677 thousand standard containers (TEU). This was mainly due to the loss of a Far East service in mid-May 2020. Cargo volumes for Far East services subsequently decreased slightly, while volumes for Middle East services fell strongly. There were also significant decreases in the United Kingdom shipping region and in feeder traffic in the Baltic region. While throughput volume at the three Hamburg container terminals was down 7.2 percent on the same period last year, the international container terminals in Odessa and Tallinn only recorded a slight decline of 0.3 percent to 143.8 thousand TEU. The multi-function terminal in Trieste went into operation in the first quarter, handling its first RoRo vessels.

Revenue in the segment increased year-on-year by 1.3 percent to € 198.1 million in the first quarter of 2021. Volume shortfalls were more than offset by an increase in revenue quality. This was due to an advantageous modal split with a high proportion of hinterland volumes and a temporary increase in storage fees resulting from longer dwell times caused by ongoing shipping delays. The operating result (EBIT) rose by 26.6 percent to € 32.7 million. The EBIT margin improved by 3.3 percentage points to 16.5 percent.

In the first three months of 2021, HHLA's transport companies recorded a significant increase in volumes in the Intermodal segment. Container transport increased by 10.7 percent to 418 thousand standard containers (TEU). Rail continued to benefit more than road from the recovery in freight volumes that had already begun in the second half of 2020. Compared with the previous year, rail transport increased by 12.1 percent to 336 thousand TEU (previous year: 300 thousand TEU). There was a significant increase in traffic from both the North German and Adriatic seaports. However, the strong year-on-year growth was mainly attributable to the rise in continental traffic. The upward trend of the previous quarters continued for road transport. In a persistently challenging market environment, transport volumes increased year-on-year by 5.4 percent to 82 thousand TEU (previous year: 78 thousand TEU).

At € 124.7 million, revenue in the segment was up significantly by 6.8 percent on the previous year. However, this increase failed to match the strong rise in transport volumes. This was due to the fact that, despite a slight increase in the rail share of HHLA's total intermodal transportation, average revenue per TEU decreased as a result of changes to the structure of freight flows. As a result of the positive trends in volume and revenue, the operating result (EBIT) increased by 25.4 percent to € 21.6 million. The EBIT margin improved by 2.6 percentage points to 17.3 percent.