HHLA’s intermodal segment thrives despite weak container revenues

The logistics provider and container terminal operator posted revenues of 868.9 million euros for the first nine months of 2015, a 4.2 percent decline from the corresponding period in 2014.    Logistics provider and terminal operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) posted revenues of 868.9 million euros (U.S. $932.8 million) for the first nine months of 2015, a 4.2 percent decline from the corresponding period in 2014.
   Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) stood at 123.9 million euros for the first nine months of the year, a 5.6 percent year-over-year drop.
   HHLA’s container segment posted revenues of 518.7 million euros for the first nine months of 2015, an 8.2 percent decline from the same period in 2014.
   EBIT for the container segment, which reached 83.5 million euros, dropped 31.4 percent year-over-year. The container segment’s EBIT was influenced by fixed costs, which assume a higher level of capacity utilization, and could not be reduced in the short term. Expenses for maintenance work, which were postponed until this year, also impacted the segment’s EBIT.
   HHLA has three terminals at the Port of Hamburg – Altenwerder, Burchardkai and Tollerort – and Container Terminal Odessa in the Ukraine.
   Container throughput at HHLA’s terminals reached 5 million TEUs for the first nine months of 2015, an 11.8 percent decline from the same period last year. HHLA attributed the weak result to the 21.8 percent drop in feeder traffic with the Baltic region and from lower volumes in traffic between Asia.
   Despite the weak results in HHLA’s container segment, the company’s intermodal segment posted positive results with revenues of 272.8 million euros for the first nine months of 2015, a 3.6 percent year-over-year increase.
   The intermodal segment’s EBIT reached 44.0 million euros for the first nine months of the year, an increase of almost 100 percent from the same period last year. “Productivity gains, which were achieved through the use of the company’s own terminals and its own rolling stock, and an improved cost structure contributed significantly to this result,” HHLA said.
   HHLA’s intermodal companies transported 996,000 TEUs throughout the first nine months of 2015, a 2.4 percent increase from the same 2014 period.
   The company’s port logistics subgroup posted revenues of 845.6 million euros and an EBIT of 111 million euros for the first nine months of 2015, year-over-year declines of 4.5 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively.
   HHLA, which had an EBIT of 169.3 million euros for 2014, expects an EBIT of approximately 150 million euros for the full year of 2015.
   “We will continue to optimize our container terminals in Hamburg in line with the trend towards larger ships, and to further automate our facilities and processes while increasing their flexibility,” HHLA’s Executive Board Chairman Klaus-Dieter Peters said in a statement. “We will also continue to invest in the expansion of our hinterland network and in our own traction according to demand.”