HHLA's Earnings Up in Q1 2019

German terminal operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) revenue increases by 10.3 % in the first quarter of 2019, despite a challenging market environment, said the company.

Container throughput increased slightly, partly due to the successful integration of the Estonian terminal operator HHLA TK Estonia last year. Extremely positive performance in container transport and property management led to a revenue of € 347.6 million (+ 10.3 %).

The operating result (EBIT) was far above the level of last year, increasing by € 11.8 million or 24.5 % to € 59.7 million. Effects from the initial application of the IFRS 16 standard only resulted in an increase of € 3.5 million.

Angela Titzrath, Chairwoman of HHLA’s Executive Board: “The results attained in the first quarter provide a firm basis for us to reach our guidance for the year. We are therefore intensifying our efforts to systematically implement our strategy, which is focussed on strengthening our creative power and future viability. Our customers measure us by our ability to live up to our performance promise. As a result, we constantly strive to achieve further improvements in our productivity, quality and reliability.”

The listed Port Logistics subgroup saw a 10.6 % increase in revenue in the first three months to € 339.8 million, while the operating result (EBIT) rose strongly by 26.1 % to € 55.7 million. The EBIT margin improved by 2.0 percentage points to 16.4 %.

In the Container segment, volume rose slightly by 2.2 % to 1,865 thousand standard containers (TEU). This was significantly influenced by the positive development of the international terminals in Tallinn and Odessa.

Revenue for the segment increased by 4.8 % year-on-year in the first three months to € 200.9 million. This was caused by a temporary increase in storage fees and a further rise in the rail share. The operating result (EBIT) increased by € 5.1 million or 15.6 % year-on-year to € 37.8 million. Of this increase, € 2.6 million is attributable to the application of IFRS 16. The EBIT margin improved by 1.7 percentage points to 18.8 %.