Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) has recorded a strong performance in the first three months of the year, noting the financial outlook for 2022 remains stable.
Revenues rose by 10.7 per cent to €386.2 million ($403.3 million) in Q1 2022, with an increase in the group operating profit (EBIT) brought by a further rise in storage fees in the container segment and a further increase in the rail share of HHLA’s total intermodal transportation.
The EBIT climbed by 15.9 per cent year-on-year to €53.7 million ($56 million).
HHLA has forecasted an unchanged outcome for the rest of the year despite uncertainties caused by the ongoing global pandemic and the war in the Ukraine.
“The existing uncertainty on the global markets created by the coronavirus pandemic has been further amplified by the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” said Angela Titzrath, Chairwoman of HHLA’s Executive Board commenting on the results.
“For several months, we have been dealing with massive ship delays as a result of supply chain disruptions, and this has led to a backlog of containers at the Port of Hamburg.”
“However, irrespective of the difficult, unsettling times, HHLA got off to a good start in the 2022 financial year.”
Turning to the container segment, throughput increased by 3.7 per cent to 174,000 TEU, while in the intermodal segment container transport surged by 3.1 per cent to 431,000 TEU.
As disclosed by HHLA, the positive development was driven by an increase in the Far East shipping region – China particularly – and the acquisition of two new services in the Baltic Sea, which together counteracted the collapse in volumes to and from Russia in March 2022 as a result of the sanctions imposed by the EU.
Looking ahead, Titzrath said that the company will seize opportunities for digital transformation and drive towards climate-neutrality.
In the 2021 reporting year, HHLA recorded increased container throughput at its terminals in spite of external pressures – registering a 2.5 per cent surge to 6.94 million TEU.
