Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome, and thank you for joining our conference call on the financial year 2024 results. From the beginning of the year, it was clear that the global economic landscape would be challenging. Geopolitical tensions, including the ongoing war in Ukraine, escalating violence in the Middle East, and the impact of the Chinese economic slowdown created a volatile and uncertain market environment. In addition, economic factors such as high inflation rates and rising energy costs weighed heavily on the global markets. These disruptions also affected logistics and supply chains, with shipping delays and vessel diversions causing significant strain and putting the logistics industry to the test. Three weeks ago, we experienced how directly and tangibly the fragile global political situation affects us at HHLA when Russia attacked our terminal in Odessa with missiles. Despite stringent security measures, two of our employees were slightly injured.
Both colleagues are doing well and are receiving a lot of support from us. Operations at the terminal are also continuing. However, this incident and the overall situation in Ukraine continue to pose a major challenge for all of us at HHLA. Nevertheless, in this environment, HHLA provided its resilience and flexibility and further strengthened its position as a leading European logistics network provider, supported by strategic investments, modernization efforts, and a continued focus on sustainability and automation. Our strategic approach of relying on the power of networks has already led to results in 2024. The expansion of our European network, for example, has had a particularly positive impact on our performance figures. We were able to increase container throughput and especially container transport compared to the previous year.
The key driver of this positive trend was the strengthening of our successful rail subsidiary METRANS and the acquisition of a majority stake in the intermodal service provider Roland Spedition. At port logistics subgroup level, HHLA recorded revenue and earnings growth in 2024 that was in line with the earnings forecast, which had been raised during the year. In addition to the positive performance of the intermodal segment, the container segment benefited in particular from longer dwell times for containers at the Hamburger terminal. The transition to automated container transport is progressing well at our Container Terminal Burchardkai , while Container Terminal Altenwerder has received its first three remote and controlled container gantry cranes. At the same time, we continue to invest in alternative drive technologies at our Container Terminal Tollerort. We are currently testing hydrogen-powered terminal vehicles and have put a hydrogen refueling point into operation.
Moreover, we have continued to expand our intermodal network. The purchase of Adria Rail and the opening of another METRANS inland terminal in Serbia has further strengthened our position as a leading provider of intermodal transport solutions. All these activities are proof of our commitment to be a leading provider of sustainable, digitalized, and connected logistics solutions in Europe, making a significant contribution to the transport and energy transition. We will continue to drive the transformation of our company forward and tap new growth potential by making targeted investments in innovative technologies, continuously expanding our networks, and working closely with our customers and partners. On that note, I'll hand over to Annette, who will take you through the key financial figures. Annette.
Thank you, Angela, and good afternoon, everyone, also from me. Let's jump directly to the reporting of our container segment, where we have been particularly affected in Hamburg by the effects of the weakening German economy and the economic downturn in China. Despite these external factors, however, container throughput at HHLA's terminals increased slightly by 0.9% to 5.9 million TEU in 2024. Throughput at our terminals in Hamburg was largely unchanged from the previous year at 5.7 million TEU. The decline in the Far East and Middle East drove this development, while there was strong growth on certain North and South American routes, particularly to the U.S.A. Temporary route changes due to the Red Sea conflict increased cargo volumes at other European ports, especially in Belgium and Greece. Feeder services rose moderately. We saw strong growth from Poland, Latvia, and the U.K., while Finnish and Danish cargo volumes declined.
As a result, the feeder ratio of seaborne handling increased by 0.8 percentage points to 19.4%. The international container terminals recorded a strong increase in throughput of 23.1% to 284,000 TEU. This was due to strong volume growth at our multifunctional terminal HHLA TK Estonia and the resumption of maritime handling at our Container Terminal Odessa in the third quarter. This more than offsets the decline in volumes at PLT Italy in Trieste due to the diversion or cancellation of vessels as a result of the military conflict in the Red Sea. Segment revenue climbed significantly by 9.1% year-on-year to EUR 773.3 million. This was mainly due to longer dwell time and the resulting increase in storage fees. On top of that, HHLA's international container terminals also contributed to the increase in revenue. EBIT costs fell by 5.9% compared to the previous year.
This was mainly due to higher personnel expenses due to, in part, the union-negotiated wage settlement, as well as to a significant increase in energy costs and additional expenses for purchased services. Moreover, the EBIT costs of our international terminals increased compared to the previous year. These cost increases were mostly offset. The actions we have been taking since March 2023 to protect earnings at the Hamburg container terminals, as well as other changes we have made, had a positive effect here. There was also a strong fall in expenses for external maintenance services, a full reversal of non-contractually fixed restructuring provisions, and a substantial decline in depreciation and amortization expenses in connection with a remeasurement of the useful economic life of certain assets in the asset class, technical equipment, and machinery.
As a result, some of the additional expenses and cost increases could be offset, and the negative impact on earnings reduced. Against this backdrop, EBIT rose by 66.6% to EUR 78.7 million, while the EBIT margin increased by 3.5 percentage points to 10.2%. Let's move on now to the intermodal segment. The transfer volumes in the intermodal segment made particularly good progress across the year. As a result, container transport rose by 11.6% to 1,007,870 TEU compared to the previous year. Rail transport rose year-on-year by 13.2% to stand at 1,545,000 TEU. There was a strong increase in the amount of transport in the German-speaking countries, which made up for a fall in traffic between Adriatic seaports and slower growth in Polish traffic. The company's acquisition of a majority share in Roland Spedition in the second quarter also helped to increase volumes.
Road transport rose slightly by 2.2% to 242,000 TEU. The recovery in transport volume in the Hamburg region, in particular, contributed to this development. With an increase of 14.6% to EUR 711.3 million, revenue outperformed the volume development. In addition to routine price adjustments, this resulted from a favorable rail share of total transport volumes, which increased by 1.3 percentage points year-on-year to 86.5%. EBIT increased by 14.8% to EUR 83.7 million, mainly due to higher transport volumes. Despite negative effects from higher union wages and the extension of operations in the rail transport, the EBIT trend was lifted by the increase in transport volumes. Let's jump briefly to the logistics segment, where we have pooled the vehicles logistics and consultancy divisions, as well as business activities with which HHLA aims to tap new growth fields.
In the reporting period, the consolidated companies reported a revenue of EUR 83.7 million, up 7% on the prior year figure. This positive development was mainly driven by the leasing company and automation technology, which achieved year-on-year growth, while revenue from vehicle logistics decreased significantly. There was a negative operating result of EUR -0.4 million in the reporting period. Although the performance of the segment's individual companies varied, the vehicle logistics result was strongly below the prior year figure, which benefited, among other things, from higher other operating income. Segment EBIT was also dampened by effects from the suspension of operations at one company. By contrast, the leasing company's contribution to earnings increased strongly during the reporting period. Driven by cargo handling, at- equity earnings rose by 9.5% to EUR 4.4 million in 2024.
Coming back to the port logistics subgroup as a whole, let's have a look at our cash flow development. In the reporting period, cash flow from operating activities of EUR 179.9 million mainly comprised earnings before interest and taxes, as well as write-downs and write-ups on non-financial assets. The main items with an opposing effect were lower income tax payments and increased trade receivables and other assets. Investing activities resulted in a net cash outflow of EUR 280.8 million, which was noticeably above the prior year figure. This development was largely due to payments for investments in large-scale equipment at the Hamburg container terminal regarding our efficiency program, as well as rolling stock for our rail business. As a result, free cash flow of the port logistics subgroup was a negative amount of EUR -100.9 million.
Cash flow from financing activities totaled EUR 156.3 million, mainly comprised newly taken out financial loans of EUR 309.4 million. There were opposing effects from dividend payments and settlement obligations to shareholders, to parent company, and to non-controlling interest, as well as from repayments on bank loans and payments for the redemption of lease liabilities. Overall, our available liquidity at the end of December 2024 remained at a robust level of EUR 250 million. Before I hand back to Angela, I would like to say a few words about the dividend. At this year's annual general meeting, the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board will propose a dividend of EUR 0.16 per dividend entitled Class A share for the 2024 financial year.
This confirms our dividend policy of distributing between 50% and 70% of the relevant net profit for the year of the port logistics subgroup to our shareholders if possible. That concludes my remarks. For a review of our ESG performance, the status update of the strategic steps to secure our core business, and an outlook for the 2025 financial year, let me hand you back to Angela.
Yes, thank you, Annette. Sustainability has always been an integral part of HHLA's business model. How sustainable our business activities already are is underlined by the high degree of alignment with the EU Taxonomy. All key figures, revenue, capital expenditure, and operating expenses were again at very high levels of nearly 80% or more. Our sustainability efforts are making good progress. Rail transport, for example, continued to rise and increased by 13.2% year-on-year to 1.5 million TEU. More than two-thirds of this volume, namely 1.1 million TEU, was transported using our climate-neutral container transport product, HHLA Pure, which represents an increase of around 18% compared to the previous years. Also, the modernization of the container terminal Burchardkai has reached an important milestone in 2024. The first automated container transporters have now been successfully tested.
Moreover, the expansion of the modern block storage has not only increased efficiency, but is also helping to improve the sustainability of our processes, for example, by a higher degree of energy-efficient equipment. We also promote sustainable operations at our international terminals in Trieste. We are working on the environmentally friendly expansion of terminal areas, making an important contribution to the long-term, sustainable future of the Adriatic port. All decisive steps for our long-term aim, which is to achieve climate-neutral production throughout the HHLA group by 2040. Before we turn to the outlook for 2025, I would like to touch briefly on MSC's acquisition of a stake in HHLA, which has kept us all busy over the past year. After all, the necessary approvals had been obtained from the various regulatory authorities in mid-November. The transaction was completed.
The Class A shares tendered to MSC were transferred to the bidder on payment of the offer price. At the end of November 2024, the City of Hamburg and MSC contributed all their Class A shares in HHLA as part of a capital increase against contributions in kind to the investment company, Port of Hamburg Beteiligungsgesellschaft SE. Once the shares had been transferred, the transaction was closed. The prior signing of the business combination agreement with the City of Hamburg and MSC at the beginning of November was a decisive step in securing important strategic and financial commitments for HHLA's future. Protecting the neutrality of our business model and the continuity of our strategy and investment planning are of the utmost importance to us. Ladies and gentlemen, geopolitical uncertainties and increasing protectionist measures continue to influence global economic development.
However, the forecasts of leading economic institutes show overall optimism for the global economy. The International Monetary Fund, for example, expects global trade to grow by 3.2%. Nevertheless, we see a mixed picture in our industry. Global container throughput is expected to grow solidly by 2.8% in 2025, driven by structural changes such as new shipping company alliances. Even if our core shipping regions are expected to grow on a low level for HHLA, we cautiously expect a significantly more positive development in 2025. One of the reasons for this is the current ramp-up in MSC container volumes. We are already handling six MSC services in Hamburg. Further services are expected over the year. These include high-volume trade lanes such as Europe Far East, as well as Australia and India. In addition, the former Hapag-Lloyd partners of the alliance will continue to use HHLA services.
We also expect to see more Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk ships calling at CTA. We also expect to see positive developments in the intermodal segment as we are continually establishing new connections with both METRANS and Roland Spedition, and demand for our services is high. With this in mind, I would like to present our forecast for 2025. For the current financial year, a strong year-on-year increase is expected for both container throughput and container transport. Strong year-on-year growth is also expected for revenue in the port logistics subgroup, and EBIT in the range of EUR 180 million-EUR 220 million is considered possible. To further increase efficiency and expand capacity in the container and intermodal segments, capital expenditure in the port logistics subgroup will be in the range of EUR 420 million-EUR 470 million.
Around half of this will be invested in the container segment, with the majority going to the Hamburger container terminals. These investments will focus on the efficient use of existing terminal space in the Port of Hamburg and the expansion of foreign terminals. The other half will be used primarily for the further expansion of the group's own transport and handling capacities in the intermodal segment. With this outlook for the current year, I would like to close my remarks on our 2024 financial results. Annette and I, we are now ready to take your questions.
We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press Star and one on the telephone. You will hear a tone to confirm that you have entered the queue. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press Star and two. Questioners on the phone are requested to disable the loudspeaker mode and eventually turn off the volume from the webcast while asking a question. Anyone who has a question may press Star and one at this time. As a reminder, if you wish to register for a question, please press Star and one on your telephone. Ladies and gentlemen, there were no questions from the phone. I would now like to turn the conference back over to Angela Titzrath for any closing remarks.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for your interest in HHLA and for your ongoing support. HHLA has set a clear course for the future. Our strategy will lay the foundation for long-term stability and competitiveness, and thus for a successful future for HHLA. Take care and goodbye.