Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) continued its successful business development and closed the first half of 2019 with rising revenue and results. It was again possible to improve profitability in a challenging market environment. Container throughput increased moderately, due in particular to the successful integration of the Estonian terminal operator HHLA TK Estonia, which was acquired last year. A significant rise in container transport was achieved. In conjunction with a strong increase in revenue in the Logistics segment and a once again moderate increase in revenue from property management, this led to total revenue of €693.7 million (US$773.2 million) (+ 9.6 %).

“The results achieved in the first half of the year confirm our expectations of reaching the targets forecast for 2019,” said Angela Titzrath, chair of HHLA’s executive board. “However, these results only represent one step in our strategic plan to secure the success of HHLA in the mid- and long-term future. It goes without saying that, in addition to the continued development of our core business and tapping into further business fields, sustainability and climate protection are integral elements of our business model. We are aware of our responsibility – not only for HHLA’s economic development but also towards society – and have already done a lot of work in this area.”

The listedPort Logistics subgroup saw a 9.8% increase in revenue in the first six months to €677.5 million, while the operating result (EBIT) rose strongly by 15.6 % to €105.6 million.

In the container segment, container throughput increased moderately by 3.8% in the first half of 2019. This was particularly influenced by the successful integration of the terminal in Tallinn, which was acquired last year.

In the first half of 2019, HHLA’s transport companies achieved significant growth in the intermodal segment. With an increase of 9.6%, container transport rose to 782,000 TEUs. This trend was driven by growth in both rail and road transport. Compared with the previous year, rail transport increased by 9.3% to 610,000 TEUs. In a market environment that remains difficult, road transport grew by 10.8% to 172,000 TEUs due to the strong increase in delivery volumes.