HHLA exceeds expected EBIT for 2022 – outlook for 2023 cautious

Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) increased its Group revenue by 7.7 percent to € 1,578 million in the 2022 financial year (previous year: € 1,465 million) according to preliminary unaudited figures. The Group operating result (EBIT) came to € 220 million, thus exceeding the expected range of € 175 million to € 210 million (previous year: € 228 million). Container throughput saw a decrease in volumes, which were down by 7.9 percent to 6,396 thousand TEU (previous year: 6,943 thousand TEU). The Hamburg container terminals reported a year-on-year decrease of 4.1 percent. Despite operational disruptions regarding arrivals to German seaport terminals, the total transport volume remained relatively constant at 1,694 thousand TEU (previous year: 1,690 thousand TEU).

Angela Titzrath, Chairwoman of the Executive Board at HHLA, says: “Stability and safety are key requirements for the reliable provision of logistics services. These two conditions were only present to a limited extent last year. The 2022 financial year was dominated by the impacts of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and disruptions to the global supply chain. In these challenging times, HHLA once again proved its efficiency and resilience and achieved a positive result. The environment is likely to remain volatile and we are already implementing measures to ensure we remain efficient and viable.”

In the listed Port Logistics subgroup, revenue increased by 7.4 percent to € 1,542 million (previous year: € 1,436 million). The operating result (EBIT) decreased by 5.2 percent year-on-year to € 202 million (previous year: € 213 million), which still placed it well above the expected range of € 160 million to € 195 million. Significantly higher storage fees during the year as a result of the ongoing disruptions to global supply chains, which led to longer container dwell times at HHLA’s terminals in Hamburg as well as in Tallinn and Trieste, had a positive effect on the development of our revenue and earnings in the financial year. Lower handling volumes, partly due to the effects of the Russian invasion on the terminal in Odessa, had a negative impact on earnings. Added to this were general price hikes and additional material and personnel costs resulting from the higher storage load.

The Real Estate subgroup recorded a 15.9 percent increase in revenue in the 2022 financial year, bringing it to € 44 million (previous year: € 38 million). The operating result (EBIT) rose year-on-year by 20.9 percent to € 18 million (previous year: € 15 million).

In the 2022 financial year, HHLA will maintain its results-orientated dividend distribution policy, which aims to pay out between 50 and 70 percent of the profit for the year after minority interests.

Within the context of ongoing geopolitical tensions, the effects of high inflation and economic sanctions, it can be assumed that HHLA’s business operations are likely to face operational challenges during the current financial year due to continued volatility and an economic slow-down.

During the first quarter of 2023, the company expects to see significant drops in volumes due to the economic situation and expects the dwell times of containers to normalise again. From the second quarter of 2023, the situation is expected to improve with a corresponding increase in volumes. However, due to the volatile environment, these assumptions are subject to considerable uncertainty.

HHLA will publish its Annual Report with complete, audited figures for the 2022 financial year at 7.30 a.m. on Thursday, 23 March 2023.