Overall view of the course of business

Despite an increasingly volatile market environment, the HHLA Group developed very successfully in 2019. Due to growth in overseas volumes and the integration of the acquired Estonian terminal TK Estonia in the middle of the year, there was a moderate increase in container throughput. Container transport significantly exceeded its strong prior-year result, driven by road and rail transport. Developments at HHLA’s two largest segments led to significant revenue growth at Group level. The operating result (EBIT) was markedly higher than in the previous year as the initial application of IFRS 16 had a positive impact. Adjusted for this effect, there was a slight year-on-year increase in the operating result (EBIT).

Guidance for the 2019 financial year – last updated by the HHLA Executive Board in the interim statement for the first nine months – was confirmed by and, in some cases, even exceeded by the actual figures. The HHLA Group continued to scale its capital expenditure to actual needs during the reporting period.

As a result of its business trend in 2019, HHLA’s financial position at the end of the reporting period on 31 December 2019 remained stable. Changes in lease accounting led to a decrease of 9.0 percentage points in the equity ratio to 22.2 % (previous year: 31.2 %). The gearing ratio rose from 2.5 to 4.0. There were no further refinancing needs as of the balance sheet date.