HAMBURGER Hafen und Logistik (HHLA) has reported revenue growth of 8.5% in the first three quarters of 2024, pocketing €1.2bn ($1.3bn) in 2024 versus the €1.1bn it made in the corresponding period last year.

The company’s earnings before interest and taxes amounted to €93.2m in the first nine months of 2024, an increase of 23.2% from the €75.6m last year.

A key factor in HHLA’s bumper year was increased container dwell time, the operator said, as well as increased volume in its European network.

“The expansion of sustainable and connected logistics solutions throughout Europe had an impact on this, resulting in significant increases in transport volumes in the Intermodal segment for our Metrans and Roland Spedition subsidiaries,” said HHLA chief executive Angela Titzrath.

The container handling figures made for happy reading for HHLA too. Its terminals increased their handling by 0.9% to 4.5m teu so far this year. Its Hamburg terminals increased their throughput by 0.2% to 4.3m teu, while its other European terminals saw a 20.2% increase, though the total in terms of teu is modest (203,000 teu).

While its terminal throughput is fairly stable, HHLA has increased its earnings forecast for the year to €110m-€130m (previously €70m-€100m), largely because of increased rail traffic and longer container dwell times.

Container giant the Mediterranean Shipping Co recently purchased a 49% stake in the operator, though the City of Hamburg still retains the majority stake.

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