HHLA lowers 2026 earnings outlook

The company said extensive modernisation projects to automate its Hamburg container terminals, combined with major rail infrastructure upgrades, had a greater impact on operations than expected. As a result, both container throughput and transport volumes have fallen short of earlier forecasts.

HHLA also cited the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty as factors affecting business performance. In addition, the company no longer expects to fully recover the operational impact caused by severe winter weather earlier in the year during the remainder of the financial year.

For its Port Logistics subgroup, HHLA now expects a slight year-on-year decline in container throughput, compared with its previous forecast of a significant increase. Container transport volumes are still expected to rise, although only slightly rather than the strong growth previously anticipated.

Despite the weaker operational outlook, the company continues to forecast a significant increase in revenue compared with 2025. However, it has revised its expected operating result (EBIT) for the Port Logistics subgroup to between €135 million and €155 million, down from its earlier guidance of €160 million to €180 million.

Within the Real Estate subgroup, revenue expectations remain unchanged at prior-year levels, although operating profit is now expected to decline significantly.

At Group level, HHLA continues to anticipate a significant increase in revenue, but has reduced its EBIT forecast to between €150 million and €170 million. This compares with its previous guidance of between €175 million and €195 million.