Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG сontainer throughput up by 2.1 % in H1 2014
In the first half of 2014, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) increased its revenue by 5.2 percent to € 595.7 million and improved its operating result (EBIT) by 3.4 percent to € 81.4 million. HHLA has confirmed its forecast for the full year 2014, the company said in its press release.
“Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG has achieved a favourable performance in the first half of 2014. We have maintained our significantly expanded market position in container handling as well as the growth trend for our container transport services, with a further rise in market shares. This has enabled us to generate higher revenue and improve our earnings. Despite rising competitive pressure and continuing infrastructure restrictions, this is a highly significant development”, said Klaus-Dieter Peters, Chairman of HHLA’s Executive Board.
With growth of 2.1 percent in throughput at its Hamburg container terminals, HHLA has consolidated its market position among Northern Europe’s major ports. However, the drop in container throughput at the HHLA terminal in Odessa (Ukraine) as a result of the crisis there meant that the Container segment recorded an overall increase in throughput of just 0.7 percent to 3.8 million standard containers (TEU) in the first half of 2014. Feeder traffic via the Baltic to Russia also declined for the first time since 2009. By contrast, the growth in throughput in Hamburg was due to the sharp rise of 8.0 percent in Far East traffic on existing liner services compared with the first half of 2013.
HHLA’s hinterland systems for container transport by road and rail increased their volumes in the first six months of the 2014 financial year by 9.0 percent to 633 thousand TEU. The strong growth can mainly be attributed to the success of the newly established rail transport links in Germany, Austria and Switzerland since the end of 2012. However, existing connections with the Czech Republic and Slovakia and traffic with the Polish seaports also recorded an increase.
On the basis of the development in the first half of the year, HHLA confirms its expectation of a slight increase in container throughput in 2014 as a whole - provided that the current structure of freight flows remains unchanged. With regard to container transport, HHLA is aiming for growth that is well above the general market trend. Against this background, HHLA forecasts a moderate increase in revenue compared with the previous year’s adjusted figure (€ 1.14 billion) and an operating result (EBIT) at Group level of between € 138 million and € 158 million.
A number of fundamental uncertainties continue to apply for the rest of the year. In particular, of the conflict in Ukraine and the development of economic relationships with Russia, but also in terms of progress in consolidating the container shipping segment. The restructuring of liner services entails both risks and opportunities.
Development of Key Group Figures at a Glance
(January to June 2014)
Revenue rose by 5.2 % to € 595.7 million.
The operating result before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was 1.6 % up on the previous year at € 140.8 million.
The operating result (EBIT) increased by 3.4 % to € 81.4 million.
Profit after tax and minority interests decreased by 10.2 % to € 26.0 million.
At € 581.7 million for the period from January to June 2014, the revenue generated by the listed Port Logistics subgroup – in which HHLA’s core business is pooled – grew by 5.3 % year-on-year. The subgroup’s operating result (EBIT) rose by 3.6 % to € 73.9 million. Earnings per share decreased by 14.6 % to € 0.31.
