German logistics firm Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG or HHLA, (HHULY.PK,HHULF.PK) reported Wednesday a decline in fiscal 2012 profit on lower revenues. HHLA said it expanded its market share in a difficult environment and announced an unchanged dividend proposal.
Looking ahead for fiscal 2013, HHLA said it expects flat container throughput, significant increase in container transport by rail and slight rise in revenues, with operating result just below that of the previous year. According to the company, the forecast reflects the economic situation taking a turn for the better and the global economy experiencing modest growth.
In its fiscal 2012, HHLA's profit after tax fell 5.8 percent to 111.8 million euros. Profit after tax and minority interests declined 18.9 percent to 72.4 million euros. For the listed Port Logistics subgroup, earnings were 66.6 million euros or 0.95 euros per share, a year-on-year decline of 20.8 percent.
HHLA's operating result or EBIT was 186.3 million euros, 10 percent lower than last year, burdened by the delay in dredging the river Elbe, among others, partly offset by a one-off gain generated essentially from the disposal of HHLA's shares in TFG Transfracht.
EBIT margin edged down 0.5 percentage points to 16.5 percent. EBITDA, a key earnings metric, declined 7.8 percent from last year to 307.5 million euros.
HHLA's annual profit fell 7.3 percent to 1.13 billion euros from last year's 1.22 billion euros, following the realignment of the Intermodal segment and a change in the accounting of fruit logistics. Port Logistics subgroup, which accounts for 97.4 percent of HHLA revenue, generated revenues of 1.10 billion euros, down 7.5 percent from last year.
Container throughput, as announced earlier, increased 1.4 percent to 7.18 million standard containers or TEU. Container transport, meanwhile, plunged 35.7 percent to 1.21 million TEU.
HHLA's Chairman, Klaus-Dieter Peters, said, "Despite a gloomier market environment, we performed well against our major competitors and expanded our position, even though our operating margin fell slightly. However, it is still clearly in a double-digit range. We have therefore completely matched our forecast made in July 2012."
Further, HHLA said its excellent liquidity position and a solid balance sheet structure enables it to propose once again a dividend payment of 0.65 per dividend-entitled Class A share for 2012. The Executive and Supervisory Boards will propose to the Annual General Meeting that the listed shares in the Port Logistics subgroup to receive the dividend.
For fiscal 2013, HHLA expects revenue to reach between 1.1 billion euros and 1.2 billion euros and an operating result in the range of 155 million euros to 175 million euros.
The company added that its current forecasts expect container handling volumes to remain flat in Northern Europe, with transport volumes in Germany increasing slightly in 2013. The dredging of the river Elbe remains of particular importance. It is not currently possible to predict if work can begin in 2013 or not.
On Frankfurt's Xetra, HHLA shares are currently trading at 17.31 euros, up 0.06 euros or 0.35 percent.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.