In both the Port Logistics and Real Estate subgroups, turnover and operating result increased or remained almost stable. Turnover in the Port Logistics subgroup increased by 2.2 percent. Container throughput increased by 1.0 percent.

In view of the positive business development, HHLA reaffirms its targets for the current financial year. The aim is to achieve revenue on a par with the previous year, while EBIT in the Port Logistics subgroup and at Group level is set to increase significantly.

Angela Titzrath, Chairwoman of HHLA's Executive Board: "HHLA remains on a successful path in the current financial year. We will certainly achieve the targets forecast for 2018, regardless of the changing market environment. We are continuing to strengthen our core business through investments so that we can continue to meet our customers' requirements in the future. It is just as important to look for new, digital business areas. Our overarching goal is to make a decisive contribution to ensuring that our customers can continue to transport their goods and raw materials safely, quickly and efficiently from A to B in the future. HHLA should be the gateway to the future."

In the listed Port Logistics subgroup, turnover increased by 2.2% to EUR 939.9 million in the first nine months. The operating result (EBIT) also rose slightly by 0.7% to EUR 143.6 million, while the EBIT margin remained almost stable at 15.3%.

In the Container segment, container throughput rose slightly by 1.0 percent to 5.5 million standard containers (TEU). The continued positive development of Far East volumes and the growth of HHLA's international container terminals contributed to this slight increase. Revenue increased by 1.3 percent to EUR 571.2 million, slightly more than container throughput, mainly due to a lower feeder ratio than in the prior-year period. The segment's EBIT margin amounted to 18.0%.

In the Intermodal segment, the decline in container transportation developed as expected. It amounted to only 2.5 percent. The realignment of Polzug's activities as part of the integration into the Metrans organization is proceeding as planned, with the result that rail transports increased only slightly compared to the previous year, while road transports continued to decline.

A slight increase in the rail share combined with longer transport distances led to a significant improvement in revenue, which rose by 3.9% to EUR 324.0 million. This was primarily due to the positive development of average revenue as a result of the change in the mix of transport routes, higher capacity utilization at the terminal in Budapest, which went into operation in mid-2017, and the successful integration of Polzug. Segment EBIT rose by 17.7% to EUR 65.3 million, bringing the EBIT margin to 20.1%.

Port Logistics subgroup: outlook
HHLA expects container throughput in 2018 to be on a par with the previous year. Container transport volumes are also expected to be on a par with the previous year, as Polish intermodal traffic will be realigned as part of the integration into Metrans. At subgroup level, this should lead to revenue in the region of the previous year. The operating result (EBIT) of the Port Logistics subgroup is expected to increase significantly in 2018 compared to the previous year. The earnings performance will be largely determined by the Container and Intermodal segments.

Real Estate subgroup: business performance January - September 2018 and outlook
Despite the fact that HHLA's properties in the historic Speicherstadt historical warehouse district and Fischmarkt Hamburg-Altona were largely fully let in the previous year, the positive revenue trend continued in the first nine months and revenue increased by a further 3.9 % to EUR 29.3 million. Planned and implemented maintenance measures with an impact on earnings affected segment EBIT. At EUR 12.3 million, it reached the previous year's level in the reporting period, with an EBIT margin of 42.0%.