Automation and portfolio adjustment impact HHLA’s results for the first nine months of the year

In the first nine months of 2026, the business performance of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) was still characterised by challenging conditions and operational disruptions. In particular, the ramp-up phase for the further automation of the Hamburg container terminals and strike-related disruptions adversely affected container throughput development in the third quarter.

Group container throughput decreased by 7.3 percent to 4,446 thousand standard containers (TEU) (previous year: 4,798 thousand TEU), while container transport volumes increased by 0.5 percent to 1,509 thousand TEU (previous year: 1,501 thousand TEU). Group revenue rose by 3.3 percent to € 1,375.1 million (previous year: € 1,331.4 million). The operating result (EBIT) fell by 30.7 percent to € 81.2 million (previous year: € 117.1 million). In addition to operational challenges, non-cash impairment charges related to the strategic focus on the core business also weighed on the result.

Jeroen Eijsink, HHLA Chief Executive Officer, said: “We have made good progress with our transformation agenda, but operationally we are not yet where we want to be. Our focus is therefore clearly on stabilising automated processes and significantly improving the quality of handling operations. At the same time, we are refining our portfolio and concentrating our resources on our core business: high-performance container terminals in Hamburg and a strong European intermodal network.”

This story was originally published by Hellenic Shipping News. Read the full story at Hellenic Shipping News →