The Hamburg Port and Logistics Company handled significantly fewer containers in the first nine months of 2026 and recorded a lower operating profit. When presenting its figures on 12 November, the port operator attributed the development in part to the automation of its Hamburg facilities and disruption caused by strikes.
Operating profit before interest and tax fell by 30.7 per cent year on year to €81.2 million, down from €117.1 million a year earlier. Revenue, by contrast, rose by 3.3 per cent to around €1.38 billion. In addition to pressures on ongoing operations, impairments also contributed to the decline in profit.
Group-wide container throughput fell by 7.3 per cent to around 4.45 million standard containers. At the Hamburg container terminals the decline was slightly greater, at 7.7 per cent, to 4.2 million standard containers. The figures relate to the company's facilities, not the entire Port of Hamburg.
According to Hamburger Hafen und Logistik, abbreviated to HHLA, the start-up phase of further automation and strikes in the third quarter were particular factors affecting throughput. For the reporting period as a whole, the company also cites modernisation work, a severe onset of winter at the beginning of the year, and changes in international transport and trade flows resulting from geopolitical tensions.
Impairments in the logistics business totalled €21.4 million. They affected two investee companies and, according to the company, had no cash impact. One of the two companies ceased operations at the end of September, while the other was sold at the end of October.
At the hinterland business performed better in terms of volume: container transport rose by 0.5 per cent across the group to around 1.51 million standard containers. Most of these were carried by rail. According to the company, growth was particularly strong on routes serving northern German seaports and on transport to and from Poland.
The Annual forecast had already been lowered by the executive board on 22 October. For the Port Logistics subgroup, it now expects a significant decline in container throughput compared with 2025; it had previously expected a slight decline. For the group as a whole, the company forecasts operating profit of between €115 million and €135 million, down from its previous forecast of €150 million to €170 million. The full-year figures are a forecast, not results already achieved.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).