Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) has reported an 8.3 per cent decrease in Group revenue to €1.44 billion ($1.55 billion) in 2023, compared to €1.57 billion ($1.69 billion) the previous year.
The Group operating result (EBIT) came to €109 million ($117 million), thus falling below the expected range of €115 million ($124 million) to €135 million ($145 million), with the previous year being €220 million ($237 million).
The group’s earnings after tax and minority interests were €20 million ($21.6 million), compared to €93 million ($100 million) in the previous year.
Group container throughput declined by 7.5 per cent to 5.91 million TEU versus the 6.39 million TEU the year prior.
The Hamburg container terminals recorded a 6.3 per cent reduction over the previous year. Transport volumes decreased by 5.4 per cent to 1.60 million TEU (prior year: 1.69 million TEU).
READ: HHLA suffers 7 per cent revenue decline
Angela Titzrath, HHLA’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “In 2023, the war in Ukraine, geopolitical tensions, high inflation rates, and increased interest rates had an impact on the global economy and increasingly dampened economic development over the year.
“This also had an impact on the entire logistics industry and HHLA’s business, causing a result just below our expectations.
“Despite these challenging conditions, we managed to hold our own. We are consistently implementing our investments in automation to increase efficiency and are continuing to drive forward our activities to expand sustainable and networked logistics solutions.”
In the publicly listed Port Logistics subgroup, HHLA’s sales declined by 8.6 per cent to €1.4 billion ($1.51 billion), with the prior year being €1.54 billion ($1.66 billion).
The German transport company reported that the operating result (EBIT) decreased by 53.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to €93 million ($100 million), compared to the previous year’s €202 million ($218 million), falling significantly short of the most recent forecast, which had assumed earnings at the lower end of the range between €100 million ($108 million) and €120 million ($129 million).
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Profit after tax and minority interests totaled €9 million ($9.7 million), compared to €82 million ($88 million) the previous year.
A YoY fall in storage fees in the container segment, as well as a somewhat significant decline in throughput and transport volumes owing to the economic situation, harmed revenue and profitability performance throughout the fiscal year.
According to HHLA, volume growth in the container segment was also impacted by the loss of feeder business with Russia due to EU sanctions, as well as the war-related decline in cargo volumes at the Ukrainian Container Terminal Odesa (CTO).
In January, HHLA appointed a new member to its Executive Board for the Finance and Real Estate divisions.
