03.07.2026 | Pressemitteilung

HGK Group increases turnover – profit impacted by one-off effect

Revenue up on the previous year (+2.7% to €646.7 million) • Core businesses remain stable operationally; targets met or exceeded • Impairment charge at RheinCargo has a negative impact • Strategic course set for the future

Cologne. In the 2025 financial year, the HGK Group performed stably from an operational perspective in an environment characterised by geopolitical tensions, economic caution and structural challenges. The war in Ukraine, international trade disputes, as well as increasing regulatory requirements, infrastructure bottlenecks and a shortage of skilled labour placed greater pressure on the business. Nevertheless, the HGK business divisions met or exceeded their targets. Group turnover for the companies consolidated within HGK AG rose by 2.7 per cent to €646.7 million (previous year: €629.5 million). A one-off exceptional item relating to the RheinCargo investment had a negative impact on the Group’s result.

The HGK Executive Board: CFO Susanne Pietsch (from left to right), CEO Steffen Bauer and COO Dr Jens-Albert Oppel © HGK AG

Overall, the financial year confirms the stability of HGK’s core businesses despite challenging conditions. HGK Shipping once again achieved results above target in its fifth year as part of the Group. HGK Logistics & Intermodal confirmed the positive trend seen in the previous year. Just like the Infrastructure & Maintenance and Real Estate divisions, it once again made a successful contribution to a positive EBIT.

“In 2025, our core businesses delivered stable results in a challenging environment, and turnover at the consolidated HGK companies rose. The reported consolidated net profit was primarily impacted by a one-off special item relating to the RheinCargo investment. We are consistently developing the HGK Group further – making it more integrated, efficient and future-proof – so that we can continue to deliver reliably even in a challenging environment,” says Steffen Bauer, CEO of the HGK Group.

In 2025, the RheinCargo investment represented a significant source of pressure, having posted a substantial loss for the financial year. In addition to the weak economic climate, structural bottlenecks in the public rail infrastructure in particular had an impact on quality, efficiency and reliability. Against the backdrop of persistently challenging conditions in rail freight transport, the HGK Group therefore made a write-down on the carrying amount of its investment. Despite the stable performance of the other business divisions, this one-off effect led to a significantly negative Group result of –14.1 million euros.

“The one-off effect relating to RheinCargo has shaped the reported result for 2025. On an adjusted basis, the result after tax stands at €16.5 million; at the same time, we are maintaining our operational profitability at a solid level with an EBIT margin of 3.3 per cent,” reports Susanne Pietsch, CFO of the HGK Group. EBIT amounted to €20.5 million.

Focus on integration, digitalisation and infrastructure

Notwithstanding this, HGK continued to consistently implement its strategic development towards becoming an integrated, intermodal logistics group in 2025. The focus is on trimodal logistics solutions from a single source, the group’s own assets and a high degree of operational control. Furthermore, digitalisation plays a central role: as part of a pilot project at HGK Shipping, work was taken forward on developing the group’s own AI application to make processes more efficient and speed up decision-making.

Lorries and containers are registered by DigiTest as they enter and leave the terminal. © HGK

Wir entwickeln die HGK Gruppe konsequent weiter – integrierter, effizienter und zukunftsfähiger, damit wir auch in einem anspruchsvollen Umfeld verlässlich liefern!

Steffen Bauer, Chief Executive of HGK AG

Infrastructure and location development also remained key areas of focus. As part of the DigiTest funding programme, a fully digital tracking infrastructure for incoming and outgoing goods across all transport modes was established for the first time in Germany at Niehler Hafen. At the same time, the HGK Group is specifically developing future-oriented sectors such as the circular economy and new freight flows in the fields of energy and sustainability. As a company with strong regional roots, it remains a reliable provider of essential public services for Cologne and the wider region.

“In 2025, we further refined our operational management – with a focus on quality, efficiency and even closer integration of our services across all modes of transport. This enhances reliability for our customers, even in a challenging environment,” explains Dr Jens-Albert Oppel, COO of the HGK Group.

Future focus on resilient supply chains

In light of persistently challenging market conditions, the HGK Group is committed to integrating its services even more closely and will restructure its organisation accordingly. This is driven by lasting changes in the economy and trade, including a rising share of imports. Integrated and resilient supply chain solutions are becoming increasingly important for customers and partners; accordingly, the HGK Group is realigning its organisation to combine service and efficiency even more effectively.

At the end of the 2025 financial year, the HGK Group employed around 2,700 staff – and the trend is upwards.