HAMBURG's biggest terminal operator, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), increased first quarter net profit 47 per cent to US$23.6 million year on year, drawn on revenues of $417.3 million, up 22 per cent, as well as producing an operating profit of $63.4 million, up 22 per cent.

    HHLA declared its growth had surpassed the 10 per cent increase in Rotterdam, the 7.9 per cent rise in Antwerp and the 24.9 per cent improvement in Bremen/Bremerhaven.

    "The year got off to a remarkably successful start and we were able to expand market share in container throughput and transport," said HHLA chief executive Klaus-Dieter Peters said.

    The listed, but 70 per cent state-owned HHLA is a logistics and general transport company, operating three container terminals at Hamburg and another in Odessa, as well as other cargo handling and transport services by rail, road and sea.

    Quarterly HHLA container volume through all its terminals, which includes two-thirds of traffic in Europe's third largest container Port of Hamburg, increased 32 per cent to 1.65 million TEU.

    The increase was driven by a 40.5 per cent increase in exports to China and a 40.7 per cent gain in European feeder traffic with Baltic port feeder traffic rising 64.8 per cent.

    HHLA's intermodal unit increased traffic mostly to the German interior, Central and Eastern Europe by 20.1 per cent to a record 454,000 TEU.

(Source:http://www.schednet.com)