Freight News, Sea

German box firms expects earnings droop

[ March 25, 2020   //   Chris ]

Hamburg-headquartered container terminal operator HHLA says it expects a strong decrease in earnings due to the coronavirus pandemic.  It said the current contraction in global economic activity is affecting all areas of the economy, including international trade, which is critical to HHLA.

I t said: “It is not possible to make any reliable forecasts under these conditions, but we can assume that revenue and operating result (EBIT) for the Port Logistics subgroup will be strongly below previous year. This is primarily due to the possible at least temporarily sharp declines in container through-put and transport.”

Chairwoman of HHLA’s executive board, Angela Titzrath, added: “HHLA has mastered many crises in its 135 years. However, the economic shocks of the coronavirus pandemic present us with a challenge of a magnitude never seen before. Nevertheless, we are aware of our responsibility as a service provider for Germany as an industrialised nation. We will therefore act with prudence and caution and systematically implement the measures that are needed to guide HHLA through this challenging time. We stand by our long-term targets, irrespective of changes in the macroeconomic environment.”

HHLA does though assume that its liquidity should enable the company to meet all its payment obligations despite the burden caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Tags: HHLA