The Chinese must continue to worry about the planned entry.
(Photo: dpa)
Dusseldorf Actually, the entry of the Chinese shipping group Cosco at the Hamburger Containerterminal Tollerort (CTT) was only a formality after a compromise at the end of 2022. “By the end of last year, we were able to successfully renegotiate all the requirements of the federal government with Cosco,” reports Angela Titzrath, CEO of the Hamburg port operator HHLA, to which CTT is a subsidiary. Since then, however, one has waited in vain for the final approval by the Federal Ministry of Economics, led by Robert Habeck (Greens).
At the end of September 2021, i.e. 18 months ago, HHLA had signed a preliminary agreement with the port company of Cosco, which was to grant the Chinese a 35 percent share in the smallest of the three HHLA terminals in Hamburg. Subject to competition law and foreign policy objections, Cosco wanted to pay EUR 65 million for the share, but HHLA was even more pleased about a long-term customer relationship with the world’s fourth-largest container shipping company.
Almost a year later, the federal government reported concerns about the deal. There was talk of security risks, as well as China’s harmful influence on Germany’s critical infrastructure. After lengthy discussions, approval was granted in October 2022 on condition that the stake be pushed below the 25 percent mark. A veto by the Chinese against resolutions in the CTT shareholders’ meeting should be ruled out in this way.
According to Titzrath, the Hamburgers renegotiated all open points with Cosco. Although the Chinese lost their veto option, a “linear reduction in the purchase price” was achieved, she said on Thursday when the annual balance sheet was presented.
Theoretically, HHLA could hope for a special income of 46 million, but the deal is still shaky. Titzrath reported that they had been waiting for the confirmation from Berlin for weeks, without giving a reason for the delay. “I have no unanswered questions,” said the HHLA CEO. In Germany, 1.35 million people are directly and indirectly dependent on the port industry, she said. “We expect the Ministry of Economic Affairs to fulfill this responsibility.”
“The Chinese have no access to our systems”
Titzrath also rejected the suspicion that the Chinese sensors installed in many container gantries could cause safety problems. The IT used for this is provided centrally by HHLA, she explained. “The Chinese have no access to our systems and no possibility of disruption.”
>> Also read: Criticism of the planned port compromise – Greens and FDP warn of new dependencies
At the same time, the listed HHLA, majority-owned by the Hanseatic City of Hamburg, is suffering from the effects of the war in Ukraine. On the one hand, port handling to Russia declined last year, and at the same time HHLA had to temporarily close its terminal in Odessa, Ukraine – even though grain is now being exported from there again and delivery traffic is being organized by rail.
The consolidated operating result (EBIT) fell by 3.4 percent to 220 million euros, container handling by as much as 7.9 percent. For the current financial year, Titzrath expects a further decline in EBIT to between EUR 160 and 190 million. Since the traffic jams in the ports have dissolved, it said there, the income from the demurrage fees for containers is shrinking. The current three-day strike in the Elbhafen is also likely to have a negative impact on business.
Nevertheless, HHLA intends to distribute 66 percent of this year’s profit of EUR 93 million to shareholders. The Hanseatic City of Hamburg receives the lion’s share of this sum.
At noon, the share fell by 0.7 percent to around eleven euros. Warburg Research left the rating of the shares at “sell” with a price target of nine euros. However, the statements by the port operator for the current year are not as bad as feared, wrote analyst Christian Cohrs.
More: “No objective reasons”: This is how the Hamburg port operator defends the China deal