Container throughput at the port terminals of Hamburg-based Eurokai grew by +13.6% in Germany (at Eurogate) and +6.8% in Italy (at Contship).
In the first nine months of the 2024 financial year, the Eurokai Group‘s container terminals handled 9.126 million TEU, an increase of 10.4% on the same period of the previous year (8.263 million TEU).
The military conflict in the Red Sea led to significant ship delays and cancellations, as the majority of ships were routed around the southern tip of Africa and, therefore, arrived later in European ports. The resulting disruptions to supply chains have made operational processes at the container terminals more difficult again since the beginning of the year, but have also led to significantly higher storage fees.
Despite this environment characterised by economic and geopolitical tensions, the Eurokai Group’s results have increased.
At 1.216 million TEU, the Contship Italia Group’s handling volumes after the first nine months were 6.9% higher overall than in the previous year. There was particularly strong growth in La Spezia (+11.1%).
Eurokai sees upturn in Wilhelmshaven
At the German locations (50% Eurokai stake) Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven, the volume climbed from just under 4.9 million TEU to 5.36 million TEU, an increase of 10.0%. The “extraordinarily positive” development in Wilhelmshaven was particularly pleasing, with an increase of 40.6% compared to the previous year’s very low result.
Handling at the other foreign locations in Morocco and Cyprus increased by a total of 13.2%. Construction work on the commissioning of the new Damietta Alliance Container Terminal in the Egyptian port city continues to progress. The first large pieces of equipment (container gantry cranes and gantry cranes) have already been delivered. However, there will be a delayed start, the company admits. This was originally scheduled for the beginning of April 2025.
Based on the earnings expectations for the Contship Italia and Eurogate segments, the Eurokai Group is expected to achieve a significantly improved consolidated result for the year as a whole compared to the previous year.
