Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) has reported a revenue decline in the first three months of 2024.
Weak results have been affected by ongoing crises and rising geopolitical tensions, which are suppressing economic development around the world. In addition, the conflict in the Red Sea resulted in major delays to shipping and cancellations in European ports at the start of the year, which also had an impact on hinterland transport.
As a result, HHLA Group’s revenue decreased slightly in the first quarter by 0.3 per cent to €363.6 million ($394.8 million) compared to €364.7 million ($396 million) the year prior. Price increases triggered by inflation and one-off effects from last year caused the Group operating result (EBIT) to decrease by 23.9 per cent to €17.4 million ($18.8 million).
Angela Titzrath, CEO of HHLA, said: “The start of HHLA in 2024 was made even more difficult by the disruptions in the supply chains due to the situation in the Red Sea and the challenging economic environment.
“Ships were delayed at the ports, which in turn affected HHLA’s container terminals and hinterland traffic. Despite the market uncertainties, HHLA has pushed ahead with its forward-looking transformation while investing in the expansion of its network and the modernisation of its facilities.”
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Container throughput at HHLA’s container terminals increased by 3.3 per cent to 1.4 million TEU.
The throughput volume at the Hamburg container terminals reached 1.4 million TEU, a 2.9 per cent increase from the previous year’s 1.36 million TEU.
This growth was primarily driven by increased volumes for the South, Central, and North American shipping regions, with particularly strong growth in cargo volumes from the US. However, the throughput volume for the Far East shipping region continued to decline.
The international container terminals reported a 12.7 per cent increase in throughput volume to 63 million TEU, driven by the significant rise at the multifunctional terminal HHLA TK Estonia.
As reported by the company, this more than compensated for the reduction in throughput volume at HHLA PLT Italy in Trieste, due to ships being rerouted or cancelled as a consequence of the military conflict in the Red Sea.
The Container Terminal Odessa (CTO) experienced a drop in volumes after seaborne handling was suspended by the authorities at the end of February 2022.
However, segment revenue increased by 5.4 per cent to €185.3 million compared to the previous year. This was attributed to higher volumes and longer dwell times for containers at the Hamburg terminals, leading to increased storage fees.
