TRIESTE – The first quarter of 2026 for Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG was affected by bad weather and geopolitical tensions, with an impact on the German group’s port and rail operations.
Severe winter conditions temporarily limited operations at Hamburg’s container terminals, while rail transport saw delays and cancellations due to line closures and frozen switches.
In the first three months of the year, container throughput fell by 5.3%, from 1.544 million to 1.462 million TEU. Intermodal traffic also declined, down 1.5% to 489,000 TEU.
Despite this, the group closed the quarter with revenue up 3.5% to 450.9 million euros, while EBIT fell by 6.3% to 30.5 million euros. Net profit dropped sharply to 0.9 million euros, compared with 7.9 million euros in the same period of 2025.
According to HHLA, the severe winter and the restructuring of shipping alliances both had an impact, altering some trade flows. In particular, traffic with North America and the Far East declined, especially with China.
The situation was different for the group’s international terminals, which recorded growth of 21.5%, reaching 88,000 TEU. HHLA attributed this result mainly to higher volumes at HHLA PLT Italy and at the Odessa terminal in Ukraine.
CEO Jeroen Eijsink acknowledged the exceptional nature of the period, while stressing that the group is continuing with determination on its path of modernising and automating its terminals, with the aim of strengthening operational efficiency and consolidating its role as a reliable partner in international supply chains.
The forecasts for the full 2026 financial year remain unchanged from those announced with the annual financial statements published at the end of March.
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