Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) has announced a drop in revenue and earnings in the first half of 2023.
More specifically, revenue in the HHLA Group fell by 6.7% to US$793.2 million in the first six months of 2023, while earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of the German port operator decreased by 50.3% to US$54.9 million.
The EBIT margin reached 6.9% from 13% in the previous year. Profit after tax and non-controlling interests came to US$8.9 million.
According to HHLA, the company’s business performance in the first half of 2023 reflected the sentiment in the market. The significant drop in volumes due to the economic situation that was evident in the first quarter of 2023 has continued in the second one.
Angela Titzrath, HHLA’s chief executive officer, commented, “The global economic slowdown is also impacting the business of HHLA as a European logistics company. This means that 2023 will remain challenging, as was to be expected.”
Container throughput at HHLA’s box terminals decreased year-on-year by 14.6% to 2,876,000 TEUs. According to HHLA, the main driver of this development was the strong decline in volumes in the Far East region, while the positive momentum from North American freight volumes was unable to compensate for this. Feeder traffic volumes were also strongly down on the previous year.
Finally, a significant decrease in annual revenue is forecast at a Group level. Additionally, HHLA expects its full-year operating result (EBIT) to be between US$125 and 147 million.
