HHLA faces more volatility in its markets
The terminal operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) is satisfied with its results in the first nine months of 2019. Container throughput grew moderately due to the integration of the Estonian terminal operator HHLA TK Estonia, which was acquired last year, and improved slightly at the Hamburg terminals.
The highest increase in revenue was generated by the logistics segment, combined with a moderate growth in revenue from property management, which led to total revenue of EUR 1.04 billion (+8.3%). The operating result (ebit) increased by EUR 19.3 million (+12.4%) to EUR 175.4 million in total.
With an upturn of 7.8%, container transport rose to 1.2 million teu. This trend was driven by growth in both rail and road transport. Railfreight, which is Hamburg's strongpoint, went up by 7.6% to 930,000 teu. In a market environment that remains difficult, road transport expanded by 8.8% to 254,000 teu due to the strong increase in delivery volumes.
As a result of the group’s performance so far in 2019, the HHLA executive board now expects a moderate increase in container throughput and a significant rise in group revenue. (fd)