Container bridges at Terminal Burchardkai (CTB) – there is currently not as much going on in the Port of Hamburg as expected
Source: dpa
After a weak start to the year, Hamburg’s most important port logistics company is now downgrading its forecast. Two factors in particular are to blame for the decline – better-functioning transport chains also have an influence.
DAfter a weak start to the year, the Hamburg port logistics group HHLA slightly downgrades its outlook. In view of the weakening economy, container handling for the year as a whole is only expected to increase slightly, the company announced on Monday Hamburg with. So far, the Management Board had expected moderate growth. HHLA wants to make up for the weaker business with savings and confirms the forecast for the operating result in the container business. The profit of the listed port logistics in 2023 before taxes and interest (EBIT) should be in a range between 145 and 175 (previous year 202) million euros.
In the first quarter, sales fell by six percent to 355 million euros. The operating result collapsed by almost two thirds to 18.5 million euros. This was due to the fact that container throughput shrank by almost a fifth and HHLA received fewer storage fees. Last year, numerous shipping companies parked many containers in the port due to supply chain problems. The storage fees due had increased HHLA’s profits. Now that shipments are running more smoothly and fewer containers are being shipped, that revenue is shrinking.
In the first quarter, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG handled 1.4 million containers (previous year: 1.74 million). In the group, which also includes the real estate division in addition to port logistics and container transport, operating profit fell by 57 percent to almost 23 million euros.
The traditional Hamburg shipping company Hapag-LLoyd had already reported a significant decline last week. In the first quarter, consolidated earnings fell to 1.89 billion euros after 4.17 billion euros in the first quarter of the record year 2022. Sales shrank by around 30 percent to 5.62 billion euros.
The background is the normalization of the supply chains on the oceans, which had been disrupted for years, and the decline in demand for sea transport. This leads to significantly lower prices. According to Hapag-Lloyd, the average freight rate fell from $2,774 to $1,999 per standard container.
The huge upheavals in the global supply chains had made container shipping companies the winners of the corona pandemic. After many years of crisis with price wars, overcapacities and red figures, the prices for sea transport had continued to rise due to tight capacities.