Newsupdate

MALAYSIAN NEWS UPDATE

CEVA quarterly profit soars 18pc to US$66 million, sales rise 12pc important growth opportunities," said Mr Urbain. Revenue in freight management was $803 million in the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 14.4 per cent year on year.

and South-East Asia. Management plans to grow revenue above market and to increase EBITDA margins from the 3.3 per cent recorded in 2017 to at least four per cent in the medium-term. This should translate into an additional $100 million in adjusted EBITDA, said the company statement. "For 2018, CEVA expects continued good volume and revenue growth in view of the sales momentum and recent business wins. "Management continues to believe that it can achieve for 2018, assuming no change in market conditions, double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth and positive free cash flow,?said the CEVA statement. The results for the first quarter 2018 are for CEVA Holdings LLC, the predecessor company to CEVA Logistics AG. On May 3, CEVA Holdings LLC merged with CEVA Logistics AG with CEVA Logistics AG being the surviving entity that then listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange.

DUTCH forwarding giant CEVA Logistics' first quarter pre-tax profit increased 18 per cent year on year to US$66 million, drawn on revenues of $1.7 billion, up 12 per cent. One of the leading asset-light third-party logistics companies also announced the completion its IPO on Swiss Stock Exchange that raised CHF1.2 billion (US$1.1 billion) and is expected to repay and refinance most of the company's debt. "I am pleased to report another good quarterly result has shown once more that CEVA is delivering on its transformation with continued growth and consistent EBITDA improvement," said CEO Xavier Urbain. "We've seen good momentum and had several new business wins. We have further improved productivity and reduced cost," he said. " "The successful IPO opens a new chapter for CEVA. The deleveraged balance sheet and the strategic investment by CMA CGM will create

Revenue in air freight was strong with an increase of 21.8 per cent year on year. Volume growth at 1.6 per cent was lower than in prior quarters reflecting the delayed onboarding of new business wins and certain contract losses. Revenue per ton was up 17.1 per cent, driven by better procurement and active margin management, said the company statement. Revenue in ocean freight increased 13.8 per cent with volumes up 8.5 per cent with good growth in all key trade lanes and market share wins though yields were flat. Contract logistics revenue as up 10,4 per cent to $987 million. This reflects volume growth, new business wins and the termination of certain contracts and transfer of the contract logistics activities in China. Growth was strong in some of the European clusters, Latin America

MALAYSIAN NEWS UPDATE

OCEAN Network Express' (ONE) EC5 service has started calling at the Port of Colombo. The service called at the South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) in which APM Terminals holds a 33 per cent share. Singapore-based ONE was established in July 2017 following the integration of the container shipping operations of "K" Line, MOL and NYK, Dubai's Maritime Standard reported. ONE's EC5 service links Asia to the east coast of North America and calls at Laem Chabang, Thailand; Cai Mep, Vietnam; Singapore and Colombo before getting to the Atlantic via Suez and then calling at Halifax, New York, Savannah, Jacksonville and Norfolk. The eastbound leg stops at Halifax, Jebel Ali and Singapore. Opened in 1999 SGAT was Sri Lanka's first private terminal. It has seen almost continuous year-on-year volume growth ever since and achieved a container throughput of 1.8 million TEU in 2017. Ocean Network Express calls at Colombo on Asia-North America EC5 service The fourth quarter, said the carrier, saw revenues rise S$55 million as freight carriage grew 4.6 per cent and cargo yield improved 8.5 per cent, while "expenditure increased by S$22 million, which was blamed on higher depreciation. SIA Cargo, which was re-integrated into the parent company from April this year, will "continue to pursue charter opportunities and deploy capacity to match demand". Currently, SIA Cargo's freighter network covers 19 cities in 13 countries and territories, including Singapore. Said SIA: "The overall demand outlook for cargo remains moderately positive, but is subject to geopolitical uncertainties which may have implications on global trade." KOREA's Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) posted a first quarter net loss of KRW175.8 billion (US$162.3 million), increasing the deficit from the KRW735.2 billion loss in the same quarter a year ago. Quarterly revenue also fell 14.6 per cent year on year to KRW1.11 trillion, which was blamed on excess supply, low freight rates and high fuel costs, reported Yonhap new agency. Despite widening losses Korea's biggest carrier confirmed an order for 20 new containerships, 12 of more than 20,000 TEU and eight 14,000-TEUers, as part of the company's plan to grow the fleet to one million TEU. HMM said that its massive ship building programme will allow it to take advantage of increased economies of scale, as well as to meet looming environmental regulations set to come into effect in 2020. According to a separate regulatory filing, HMM also plans to purchase the remaining stake it does not already own in a container terminal at the Port of Busan along with Singapore-based terminal operator PSA International. Hyundai Merchant Marine widens loss to US$162 million, sales fall 14.6pc Profit turnaround for SIA Cargo as earnings and revenues soar in FY2017/18 SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) cargo division reported a 4,833 per cent increase of operating profit to S$148.1 million (US$110 million) in the 2017/18 financial year, drawn on revenues of S$2.2 billion, up 111.5 per cent. Cargo yield was up 8.9 per cent and freight carriage improved 5.3 per cent "on the back of strong air cargo demand," reported the carrier in its annual results statement. "Expenditure was up S$119 million, partly due to higher handling costs on increased freight carriage, staff costs, and aircraft maintenance and overhaul costs. Cargo load factor rose by 2.1 percentage points to 65.3 per cent." The fourth quarter of the 2017/18 financial year saw SIA Cargo report an operating profit of S$28 million, a S$33 million year-on-year improvement from a S$5 million loss.

Dnata profit rises 8.3pc to US$353m as sales increase 7pc DUBAI-BASED ground handler dnata's 2017-18 net profit increased 8.3 per cent year on year to AED1.3 billion (US$353 million), drawn on revenues of AED13.5 billion, up seven per cent, reported TradeArabia. Dnata, part of the Emirates Group, noted that its international business now accounts for 68 per cent of its revenue. The strong performance was achieved through organic growth with key contract wins coupled with solid customer retention across its four business divisions, as well as the impact of acquisitions from previous year, said the report. Dnata continued to lay the foundations for future growth by investing AED600 million in new facilities and equipment, acquisitions, leading-edge technologies and people development. In 2017-18, dnata's operating costs increased eight per cent to AED11.9 billion, reflecting the impact of organic growth across all lines of business coupled with integrating the newly acquired companies mainly across its international airport operations. Revenue from dnata's UAE Airport Operations, including ground and cargo handling, increased by four per cent to reach AED3.2 billion. The number of aircraft movements handled by dnata in the UAE declined two per cent to 211,000, impacted by the geopolitical situation in the region, whereas cargo handling increased two per cent to 731,000 tonnes, supported by the strong overall air cargo market. Dnata's international airport operations division grew revenue 14 per cent to AED3.8 billion on account of increasing business volumes, opening of new locations and winning new contracts. International airport operations continue to represent the largest business segment in dnata by revenue contribution. The number of aircraft handled by the division further increased substantially by 10 per cent to 449,000, and cargo noted a substantial growth of 10 per cent to 2.4 million tonnes of handled goods. Dnata's catering business accounted for AED2.1 billion of its total revenue, up seven per cent. The inflight catering business uplifted more than 55 million meals to airline customers. Revenue from dnata's Travel Services division has seen a turnaround after last year's decline with an increase of eight per cent to AED3.4 billion. The underlying total transaction value (TTV) of travel services sold increased six per cent to AED11.3 billion.

MALAYSIAN NEWS UPDATE

CH Robinson starts new rail service connecting China and Europe in flexibility. It is for freight that requires faster transit times than ocean, at twice the speed, with substantial savings over air," said Mike Short, president, Global Forwarding at CH Robinson. The company offers empty container pick up, collection at factories, customs declaration at origin, customs clearance and further pan-European distribution by intermodal and truck services at destination areas. Full block train, single or multiple containers, LCL shipments and oversized cargo are available options.

MEDITERRANEAN Shipping Company (MSC) has signed a 30-year concession agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports (ADP) to develop a new container terminal in Khalifa port. "We are confident that with this investment we will continue to ensure a high level of service for our customers and have the capacity to grow the scale of our operations in the UAE," said MSC president Diego Aponte. Under the terms of the agreement MSC will invest AED4 billion (US$1.1 billion) over the lifetime of the concession agreement, Dubai's Maritime Standard reported. It is believed that the terminal will be MAJOR third-party logistics providers (3PL) CH Robinson has announced the launch of a new trans-Eurasian rail freight service that connects nine origin terminals in China with eight destination cities in Europe. Each freight train requires 18-20 days to complete the tour between terminals in Zhengzhou, Suzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Yiwu, Xiamen, Shenzhen and Guangzhou in China, with the cities of Melaszewicze, Hamburg, Duisburg, Milan, Tilburg, Lyon and Paris in Europe, and Barking in the UK. "The new rail line complements our air and ocean offerings, giving customers the ultimate

He explained that the new service is a convenient direct link to and from China's booming economic cities to multiple countries and destinations in Europe. "CH Robinson's strategic development of gateways in China gives customers more choice, along with exceptional service and competitive pricing." With the new routes, customers also have more sustainable service and wider coverage.

Said CH Robinson vice president John Chen: "With trans-Eurasian rail service adding to our current ocean and air offerings, our customers could have more route choices and wider coverage from China to Europe. One Belt One Road is a top initiative for China. We are glad to support this with our customers."

MSC invests US$1.1b in new container terminal in Khalifa port equipped with 13 new quayside gantry cranes and MSC will contribute to port dredging costs to enable the port to handle large bulk carriers and containerships. developing a container terminal of its own at Khalifa port.

ADP chief executive Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi said: "We have successfully attracted two of the world largest companies in the field of shipping and container handling to develop a regional hub at Khalifa port. Over the next five years, the capacity of the two container terminals at Khalifa port will increase to more than 8.5 million TEU annually." An ADP statement indicates that MSC plans to gradually shift some of its container handling in the region to Khalifa port as soon as July this year.

The investments planned are set to increase Khalifa port's capacity to 5.3 million TEU a year by 2020, making it one of the top 25 ports worldwide. The Khalifa port container terminal project will be handled by MSC's specialist subsidiary, Terminal Investments Limited (TIL). The deal with MSC follows on from an earlier agreement with Cosco Container Shipping Ports, which is in the process of

MALAYSIAN NEWS UPDATE

OOCL has received the 2017 Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (HKAEE) Gold Award in the Transport and Logistics Sector category at a ceremony held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The HKAEE encourages businesses and organisations to embrace green management and innovation with the opportunity to benchmark their environmental performance and commitments towards best practices within their sectors. OOCL first participated in the HKAEE Award and won the Gold standing in 2012 and again in 2014. "For the first time in the awards programme, and in addition to the HKAEE Gold Award, a new "outstanding Green Leadership Award" was introduced this year to recognise ten top performers demonstrating excellent performance in the aspect of green leadership. From over 1,600 eligible applicants in 15 industry sectors, OOCL is very proud to be one of the first recipients of this award," it said. OOCL said it will continue to strive for further improvements in all aspects of its business for a greener future in the generations to come. OOCL wins 2017 HKAEE Gold Award for top environmental performance PSA and Hyundai Merchant Marine buy remaining Busan terminal from PE firm HYUNDAI Merchant Marine (HMM) and Singapore's PSA International have secured complete ownership of a Port of Busan terminal, reports London's Port Technology International. Both Korean shipping giant HMM and global port operator PSA will each hold a 50 per cent in the terminal after purchasing the remaining shares from a Korean venture capital firm IMM Investment in a deal on May 15. Due to the new ownership, the terminal has changed its name from Hyundai Pusan New-Port Terminal to Korea Shipping Partnership Pusan Newport Terminal. HMM fronted a majority of the final investment with PSA to take joint ownership, securing 40 per cent of the remaining shares in order to lower its cargo handling costs. PSA took 10 per cent of IMM Investment's stake. HMM's stake decreased to 10 per cent in 2016 after it sold shares due to mounting debts. TUGS came to the rescue of dry cargo ships in the Mediterranean and off the Canary Islands last week. The salvage and port tugs helped to avert a maritime accident by towing away two containerships and one general cargo vessel. On May 13 containership Kubilai Khan suffered engine failure and started drifting north of Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Search and rescue tug Miguel de Cervantes was able to tow the 1996-built, 5,996 gross tonne ship to Las Palmas the following day for repairs. Engine trouble was also the cause of a stranded ship blocking the Egyptian port of Damietta on May 12. Hapag-Lloyd's large container ship Frankfurt Express ran into trouble while manoeuvring in the harbour, blocking quaysides and navigation channels, reported London's Tug Technology & Business. Port tugs were deployed to move 2010-built, 8,000 TEU Frankfurt Express away from trouble and out of the way from other ships. Crew were able to repair the engine failure and resume the voyage to Spain. Also on May 12 Royal Wagenborg-operated general cargo ship Marietje Nora needed emergency towage in the Ionian Sea, after suffering damage. This 2015-built ship was en route to Ravenna, Italy, from Denmark when it ran into trouble. A tug towed this ship to Corfu, Greece for repairs. Tugs come to aid of dry cargo ships in the Mediterranean and Canary Islands

Frankfurt air cargo volume rises 2.3 pc to 189,634 tonnes FRANKFURT Airport has reported a 2.3 per cent year-on-year increase in April cargo throughput to 189,634 tonnes. It also reported continuous increases in passenger numbers and aircraft movements with traffic also growing across Fraport's international Group airports. In April, Frankfurt Airport (FRA) welcomed some 5.7 million passengers - an increase of 5.8 per cent. Without strike and weather-related flight cancellations, passenger numbers at FRA would have risen by 7.2 per cent. During the January-to-April period, FRA achieved accumulated growth of 8.7 per cent. European traffic (up 10.8 per cent) continued to be the driver of passenger growth in April. Aircraft movements climbed 8.4 per cent to 42,922 takeoffs and landings in April 2018. Again, European traffic was the primary growth driver (up 11.6 per cent). Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) expanded by 5.5 per cent to some 2.6 million tonnes. Across the group, airports in Fraport's international portfolio all showed positive performance. Ljubljana Airport (LJU) in Slovenia's capital city served 157,837 passengers, representing an increase of 19.4 per cent. Fraport's two Brazilian airports in Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA) reported combined traffic growth of 2.8 per cent to about 1.1 million passengers. Overall traffic at the 14 Greek regional airports surged by 10.6 per cent to over 1.3 million passengers. Specifically, high-traffic Thessaloniki Airport (SKG) rebounded strongly, with the airport serving 521,822 passengers in April 2018 (up 10.1 per cent). In March 2018, SKG still reported declining passenger numbers due to the runway closure in connection with renovation works. Lima Airport (LIM) in Peru posted 9.2 per cent traffic growth to about 1.7 million passengers. At the Twin Star airports of Varna (VAR) and Burgas (BOJ) on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, passenger numbers soared by 59.2 per cent to a total of 124,421 passengers. Traffic at Antalya Airport (AYT) in Turkey rose by 27.5 per cent to around 1.9 million passengers. A total of 491,250 passengers used Hanover Airport (HAJ) in northern Germany, up 5.8 per cent. Pulkovo Airport (LED) in St Petersburg, Russia, saw traffic advance by 11.8 per cent to some 1.3 million passengers. In China, Xi'an Airport (XIY) welcomed about 3.7 million passengers, representing an increase of 8.3 per cent.

MALAYSIAN NEWS UPDATE

MSC becomes first to end Iran service as US re-imposes sanctions reported.

HIGHER freight and shipping expenses are cutting into shippers' profits including those of Hasbro, Kellogg, Mondelez, Coke and Monster, and such rising costs are likely to be passed on to consumers. Some of the higher costs, which will likely to be passed on to consumers, can be attributed to the shortage of qualified truck drivers in a tight labour market, reported CNN Money. "There are more attractive options out there for potential truck drivers in a strong economy," said PNC Financial economist Gus Faucher. "It's difficult to find new workers to expand." Some 70 per cent of goods in the United States hit the highway at some point before they reach your home, according to the American Trucking Associations. Companies paid six per cent more for trucking in April than a year ago, the fastest growth in almost seven years, according to the US Labour Department. Tyson Foods CEO Tom Hayes said his BUOYANT demand for cellular tonnage and a low lay-up rates provide little incentive to slow the addition of 225,000 TEU in next few weeks to Asia-Europe trade lanes, according Paris-based research house Alphaliner. There had been earlier predictions that 400,000 TEU of the 1.4 million TEU to be delivered this year would be deferred to 2019 as has been the usual practice in recent years. But Alphaliner no longer sees it that way. "Unlike in previous years, when some owners sought to defer ship deliveries due to poor vessel earnings. But that is no longer so." Happing-Lloyd and others say their ships are "running full and the number of MEDITERRANEAN Shipping Co (MSC} has become the first major container shipping line to announce plans to shelve direct services into Iran as the US gears up to re-impose sanctions, its decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. A s t a t eme n t f r om MS C s a i d : " I n consideration of the impending US withdrawal from the JCPOA [joint comprehensive plan of action] and corresponding re-enlargement of its sanctions programme, we regret to inform you that MSC is ceasing to provide access to services to and from Iran," London's Loadstar

Donald Trump announced the US would re-impose sanctions in three-to-six months. US officials have confirmed that the sanctions regime would apply to non-US firms with operations in the country or using its banking system. Iran's national shipping line, IRISL, was also singled out by the US and will be subject to sanctions following the 180-day wind-down period, leaving in doubt a newbuild order it placed with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries for four 14,500-TEU containerships in late 2016.

The company outlined a wind-down period, saying it will do its best to collaborate to conclude this period with the minimum disruption and unnecessary inconvenience. "While MSC is not accepting bookings for shipments originating from Iran, or destined to Iran, we will continue to carry certain legally acceptable cargoes during the wind-down period, notably for importation of foodstuffs," it said. The ability of other ocean liners to continue serving Iran is now in question after President

Few delivery delays to stop flood of new Asia-Europe mega ships containerships in lay-up is now just 80, or one per cent of the total global fleet, bringing scrapping to a near halt. Alliance, plus the last two of Maersk's 20,500 TEU EEE-Mark 11 ships to be delivered shortly, will already add 346,000 TEU to the global fleet before the end of the year," said Alphaliner.

Now Alphaliner fears pressure on the shipping market a flood of 10,000-TEUers - totalling 750,000 TEU - come into service from May to December. Alphaliner also notes that Casco’s seven remaining 19,000-21,000 Tenures, to be delivered in October, will be put into Ocean Alliance NE3 Asia service to North Europe. Cosco alliance partners, Evergreen and CMA CGM, are expected to receive six and two 20,000-21,000 TEUers this year. "These 15 ULCV newbuildings for the Ocean

Said SeaIntel CEO Alan Murphy: "The Asia-Europe trade is seeing a vast amount of newbuildings, but the carriers have managed to balance Asia-Europe supply to a reasonable degree. "The carriers should be able to blank sailings to match a weak demand environment on Asia-Europe over the peak season, while also having enough capacity buffer if demand growth is stronger than expected," Mr Murphy said.

Truck driver shortage in United States raises costs for shippers company anticipates an additional US$250 million in shipping expenses this year. The company took early steps to blunt the impact but still expects to pass some of the costs on to consumers. drivers in the country, the industry group says. And finding new truckers is proving difficult: overall unemployment is the lowest since 2000. An aging trucker population, low wages, and a new federal safety regulation that restricts hours on the road have contributed to the squeeze, analysts say.

"Product prices must reflect the true cost because we cannot subsidise the increased freight," he said. One hundred and forty-eight companies in the S&P 500 have mentioned "freight," "shipping," or "trucking" on their earnings calls during the last four months - double the number from a year ago, financial research platform Sentieo found. Thousands of truckers lost their jobs during the recession a decade ago, but the industry bounced back during the recovery, Mr Faucher said. Trucking companies hired easily and gas stayed cheap, which kept costs from spiralling. But those costs have soared since late 2016 as hiring for long haul, 18-wheel drivers has stalled. There are only around 500,000 of these

Without an influx of new drivers, the industry group predicts it will be 63,000 drivers short by the end of the year. To attract new truckers, businesses are increasing pay and benefits, further raising shipping rates. Congress is also considering lowering the interstate truck driving age to 18 from 21. The cost per mile in the spot market is 29 per cent higher than a year ago, according to DAT Solutions. The longer-term contract rates that big suppliers negotiate with major carriers usually follow the spot market, which means freight costs should stay high in coming months. Contract rates are up 15 per cent this year.

MALAYSIAN NEWS UPDATE

Ethical financiers withdraw funds from beach scrappers ETHICAL investors are pressuring shipowners to stop providing employment to Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani slavors on dead ship beaches of the subcontinent because of poor working conditions. Norway's US$1 trillion Oil Fund, leading the pack of ethical investors, has punished four firms because they scrap on these beaches, by withdrawing investments. Among the defunded firms are Taiwan's Evergreen Marine, Korea Line, Precious Shipping and Thoresen Thai Agencies (TTA). But government officials and shipowners say conditions have improved significantly in recent years. Norwegian life insurer KLP soon followed, selling shares in the one of the four it owned and blacklisting the other three, Reuters reported. Further exclusions are likely, said KLP, the fund and its advisory Council on Ethics. The council's chief adviser, Aslak Skancke, said the divestments had already effected wider change, including encouraging companies to seek cleaner scrapping. Three leading pensions funds - Caisse de Depot, CCP and OMERS - are reviewing their investments in shipping over ethical and green considerations, a finance source familiar with the matter said. OMERS declined to comment. Caisse de Depot and CCP did not respond to requests for comment. More than 80 per cent of freighters are broken up on the beaches of Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. Industry leaders in South Asia say they cannot afford to upgrade their sites and remain competitive. Workers cut up ships with blowtorches, with parts and pollutants dropping directly onto the sand. Some sites have cranes, impermeable surfaces and safety standards for workers and equipment. "If there was to be a blanket ban on 'beaching' there would be a very, very serious capacity problem because there is nowhere else big enough to deal with it at the moment," said John Stawpert, manager for environment and trade at the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents most of the world's merchant fleet. Commerzbank has said it will exit shipping financing and invest its capital elsewhere; others, such as Deutsche Bank, say they aim to cut their exposure to the sector. Leading Dutch shipping finance houses ABN AMRO and ING, Sweden's Nordea, Norway's DNB and Denmark's Danske Bank, as well as the Netherlands' NIBC, say they are taking a hard look at their borrowers' policies.

MAERSK group, the world biggest shipping company, declared a 990.9 per cent year-on-year first quarter profit increase to US$2.76 billion, drawn on revenues of $9.3 billion, up 30 per cent. But the Danish shipping giant's revenue was up only 10 per cent, if the contribution of Hamburg Sud, which it purchased last year, went uncounted, reported American Shipper. First quarter gains were also driven by the sale of Maersk Oil to the French oil company Total in March, said Maersk group CEO Soren Skou, who also noted the company now owns 97.5 million shares of Total valued at $6.2 billion. Maersk's quarterly ocean revenue was up 38 per cent of $6.8 billion, the result of a 24 per cent increase in volume from the Hamburg Sud which lifted an additional to 3.2 million FEU. Without that, Maersk sea freight revenue would have been up nine per cent with volume rising 2.2 per cent. He also said he plans to return a material portion of the value of those shares to Maersk shareholders in the form of an extraordinary dividend, share buy-back or distribution of the Total shares to Maersk shareholders this year or in 2019. Quarterly pre-tax profit increased five per cent to $669 million. The higher EBITDA was "positively impacted by Hamburg Sud purchase with $88 million and strong performance in terminals and towage, but hit by a $100 million currency exchange loss. Maersk group profit increases nine fold, as Hamburg Sud buyout pays off Hamburg's HHLA reports 2.6pc first quarter box volume gain to 1.8 million TEU THE Port of Hamburg's biggest by far terminal operator, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA) declared that first quarter container volumes increased 2.6 per cent year on year to 1.8 million TEU, reports London's Port Technology International. This development was driven by Asian traffic, which increased 8.9 per cent. A lower share of feeder traffic and higher storage fees meant that HHLA's revenue increased moderately by 4.9 per cent to US$226.8 million. Its segment operating result (EBIT) also rose by 2.6 per cent to $38.6 million, with its EBIT margin amounting to 17.1 per cent. HHLA's container transport declined by 5.3 per cent due to the realignment of Polzug's intermodal transportation activities, but has not affected HHLA's expectations for its Port Logistics subgroup EBIT, which has increased by 3.3 per cent. "Following a good start in the first quarter, we are confident that we will achieve our targets for the year," said HHLA chairwoman Angela Titzrath. "Furthermore, we have set up a structured process that will allow us to continually select and evaluate potential value-adding acquisition targets. One of the first results of this process is the acquisition of the largest terminal operator in Estonia, Transiidikeskuse AS in the port of Muuga," she said.