TRIESTE – Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) closed the first quarter of 2025 with strong growth in both revenue and operating profit, bucking the trend amid Germany’s economic weakness and global uncertainty.

The group’s revenue rose by 19.8%, reaching €435.6 million (up from €363.6 million in the same period last year), while operating profit (EBIT) increased by 86.6%. Net income after taxes and interest stood at €7.9 million, compared to a €1.1 million loss in Q1 2024.

“The first quarter was still shaped by geopolitical tensions and sluggish economic growth. In particular, U.S. trade policy slowed global trade and heightened uncertainty in supply chains. In this complex environment, HHLA successfully advanced its European business. Rail-based container transport, in particular, showed strong growth as a result of our ongoing investments in European network strategy,” said Angela Titzrath, CEO of HHLA.

In the container segment, HHLA terminals handled 1.54 million TEUs, a 5.5% increase. At the Hamburg terminals, traffic rose 5.1% to 1.47 million TEUs. While volumes with North America and the Middle East declined, traffic with the Far East—especially China—increased significantly. There was also a rise in volumes to other European ports due to temporary rerouting caused by the conflict in the Red Sea. Feeder traffic also grew, particularly with Finland, Poland, and domestic German routes, pushing the share of maritime traffic handled by feeders up to 20% (from 18.8%).

Revenue in the container segment rose by 11.4%, driven by longer container dwell times at Hamburg terminals and growth in international terminal operations.

Intermodal traffic saw a sharp expansion: container transport rose by 28.7% to 496,000 TEUs (from 386,000). Rail transport jumped by 30.1% to 428,000 TEUs (from 329,000), mainly driven by flows to Northern European and Adriatic ports (HHLA controls HHLA PLT Italy in Trieste), as well as connections in German-speaking countries. The contribution from Roland Spedition, not included in Q1 2024, also supported the increase. Road transport rose by 20.4% to 68,000 TEUs (from 56,000).

Intermodal revenue grew by 33.1%, despite infrastructure work along key routes limiting margin improvement.