As a consequence of the looming economic slowdown and new schedules of shipping companies, the Executive Board of HHLA last night adjusted its forecast for the current financial year.
Upon the reassessment, it is now expecting a container throughput for 2012 in the region of the previous year (2011: approx. 7 million TEU). The former target of volume growth in the region of 5% does no longer seem achievable according to the current view.
Taking the realignment of the Intermodal segment into consideration, the company is still aiming at a Group revenue in the range of 1.1 billion €. Based on the volume adjustment and productivity lost due to the reorganisation in the Container segment the operating result (EBIT) is now expected to be in a range between 170 and 190 million € (previously: at least 200 million €). Against the background of the adjusted volume expectation, there is now a review of the scalability of capital expenditures going on.
Statements regarding the expected course of business are currently subject to an unusually high uncertainty, since the effects of the sovereign debt crisis on the economic development and global trade are further unclear while downside risks have clearly increased over the recent past.
[mappress]
Source: HHLA, July 25, 2012