Pending the outcome of the offer made by the group Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to acquire up to 49.9% of the company's capital, with at least 50.1% to be held by the administration of the city-state of Hamburg ( of 24 October 2023), the German terminal operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) today presented its results operational and financial results achieved in the third quarter of this year, period in which the container traffic handled by its own Port Terminals Returned to Growth After Five Quarters decline, while the deterioration of the financial performance.

In the period July-September 2023, the port terminals of HHLA handled containers totalling 1.58 million of TEUs, with an increase of +5.2% over the same period of 2019. last year, while the volumes of containers handled by the the group's logistics and intermodal operations fell by -3.1% due to the totalled 403 thousand TEUs.

These activities, in addition to real estate activities operated by HHLAs that generate about 3% of the company's turnover, generated revenues of €362.9 million, with a decrease of -7.7% over the same period of 2022, of which 353.6 million (-7.7%) from port activities and Logistic. EBITDA and EBIT amounted to 70.3 million (-30.6%) and €25.3 million (-57.1%), with contributions of €64.0 million million (-32.1%) and €21.3 million (-60.3%) from activities port and logistic services. Profit after tax was €10.8 million (-69.2%), of which €7.5 million (-76.5%) from port and logistics activities.

In the first nine months of 2023, a period in which the terminals 4.45 million TEUs and logistics services 1.22 million TEUs, with decreases of -8.5% and -3.5% on the corresponding last year, revenues amounted to $1.09 billion of € (-7.1%), of which € 1.06 million (-7.3%) from the port and logistics activities (-7.3%). The operating margin gross profit was €209.3 million (-28.5%), the operating profit of €75.6 million (-52.8%) and profit after tax of €29.0 million euro (-69.2%).

For the remainder of 2023, the terminal company expects a continuation of the decline in revenues, due to the in particular the contraction in the turnover of the container handling that will not be compensated by A sharp increase in revenues from services is expected intermodal services of the group.