The operating result (EBITDA) improved by 4.9% from EUR 40.5 million to EUR 42.5 million. Net profit increased from 11.7 million euros in 2017 to 12.2 million euros. That is an increase of 4.3%. Particularly pleasing: the equity investments made a significant contribution to the good earnings performance.

Erich Staake, Chairman of the Executive Board of Duisburger Hafen AG, dampened expectations for the current financial year at the annual press conference: "We cannot escape the global developments. According to current estimates by the RWI, global container throughput fell to 133.9 index points in February. In January, it was still at 138.2, the fourth sharpest monthly decline ever recorded. We are facing rough times ahead." In this context, Staake also referred to other imponderables that already had a negative impact on Group sales in the last financial year: The low water levels on the Rhine in 2018 and the unanswered questions surrounding the threat of Brexit are just two examples.

In light of these facts, the good business figures in 2018 are "probably a success that will be difficult to repeat."
The customer first: duisport as an international "premium port" At the same time, Staake emphasized the strict strategic focus on quality criteria. duisport has achieved a leading position as a "premium port" in international comparison: "We focus on quality. The logistics areas we have developed are premium locations. We have positioned our value chains broadly and securely. This intensive customer orientation has made duisport a networking platform for logistics services. Our customers appreciate this market positioning as a quality provider. We will continue to develop this strategy internationally.

Among the four duisport divisions, the Infra and Suprastructure segment achieved sales of 54.4 million euros, an increase of 7.3% compared to the previous year's sales of 50.7 million euros. Turnover in the Logistics Services segment increased by 2.1% from EUR 75.8 million to EUR 77.4 million. Packaging Logistics, the business segment with the highest turnover, also recorded a strong increase of 7.6% - from 87.0 million euros to 93.6 million euros. In contract logistics, duisport achieved sales of 24.2 million euros.

The duisport Group made investments in property, plant and equipment and financial investments totaling 20 million euros in 2018. In 2017, this figure was an extraordinary 34 million euros due to the acquisition of Bohnen Logistik and the construction of the logistics property for Daimler on Duisburg's Mercatorinsel. Total goods throughput including the private works ports amounted to 127.5 million tons (2017: 130.6 million tons). This is a decrease of 3.0%. In the ports of the duisport Group, throughput fell from 68.3 million tons to 65.3 million tons. The low water period led to a ten percent decline in bulk goods. The handling of iron, steel and coal in particular fell, while it remained stable in the mineral oil and chemicals sector.

Container handling, which is the most important duisport goods segment with a share of around 55%, reached the record level of the previous year with a throughput of 4.1 million TEU. Around 30% of all trade by freight train between China and Europe is already handled via the Port of Duisburg. The Rhine-Ruhr region is thus developing into the central hub for trade between the EU and China. Every week, 35 trains run between Duisburg and a dozen destinations in China. In the past financial year, around 130,000 TEU were transported on these trains.

Cooperation with Chinese partners should enable further growth along the Silk Road corridors in the interests of the German export industry. duisport is currently involved in the development of the world's largest industrial and logistics park "Great Stone" near Minsk in Belarus. In a consortium with European and Asian partners, the aim is to reduce the transportation time of China trains from the current 14 days to 10 days in the medium term.