HHLA Makes Good Start to 2018

German terminal operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) handled 2.6 percent more containers in the first quarter of this year, compared to the corresponding period last year.

HHLA’s container throughput rose to 1.824 million TEU in Q1 2018 from 1.778 million TEU seen in Q1 2017.

As explained, this development was driven by Asian traffic, which increased considerably by 8.9 percent year over year.

By contrast, HHLA saw a 5.3 percent decline in container transport. This is due to the scheduled realignment of Polzug’s activities as part of its integration into the Metrans organization, according to the terminal operator.

The HHLA Group’s revenue rose moderately by 3.3 percent to EUR 315.2 million (USD 373.3 million) during the first quarter of this year, from EUR 305.1 million (USD 361.4 million) recorded in Q1 2017. This was due in part to the increase in the container throughput mentioned above as well as to longer transport distances in intermodal traffic, HHLA said.

What is more, the operating result (EBIT) climbed by 5.9 percent to EUR 47.9 million in Q1 2018 from EUR 45.2 million reported in the corresponding period of 2017.

Revenue in the port logistics subgroup increased by a moderate 3.3 percent to EUR 307.3 million in the first quarter. EBIT climbed significantly by 5.9 percent to EUR 44.2 million.

“Following a good start in the first quarter, we are confident that we will achieve our targets for the year,” Angela Titzrath, Chairwoman of HHLA’s Executive Board, said.

In March 2018, HHLA signed an agreement to acquire 100 % of shares in Transiidikeskuse AS, a terminal operator in the Port of Muuga, Estonia. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of this year.

“We intend to invest more than one billion euros over the next five years in order to strengthen our Hamburg location and to continually expand our intermodal network. Furthermore, we have set up a structured process that will allow us to continually select and evaluate potential value-adding acquisition targets. One of the first results of this process is the acquisition of the largest terminal operator in Estonia,” Titzrath further said.

“We are continually working on increasing our efficiency and profitability. The acquisition of the remaining shares in Metrans from the management and the successful integration of Polzug into the Metrans Group show that we are striving for success,” Titzrath concluded.