Port of Vienna Enjoys Record Year in 2024: Increased Turnover and High Investments Secure Future
Port of Vienna, a key company within Wien Holding, can look back on an exceptionally successful 2024 financial year this summer. Despite a challenging economic environment, the trimodal logistics center significantly increased its revenue and achieved a record operating result. At the same time, extensive investments were made in infrastructure, digitalization, and sustainability to further consolidate its position as one of Europe's most important hinterland hubs.
Vienna Holding CEO Kurt Gollowitzer, City Councilor for Economic Affairs Barbara Novak, Port of Vienna CEOs Doris Pulker-Rohrhofer and Fritz Lehr (from left to right). / Picture: © Magistrat der Stadt Wien / PID / David Bohmann
With a total area of around three million square meters—more than one and a half times the size of the Principality of Monaco—the Port of Vienna is the largest public Danube port in eastern Austria and an indispensable trimodal logistics hub in the heart of Europe. The Port of Vienna Group closed 2024 with a turnover of €58.8 million. Operating profit climbed by an impressive 4.3 percent to around €9.1 million – a new record high. This positive development underscores the robustness and strategic orientation of the port, which, as an important goods hub, plays a key role in ensuring the security of supply for the federal capital Vienna, and its surrounding region.
Comprehensive investments for the future
A decisive factor in this success was the targeted investment strategy. A total of around 21 million euros was invested in 2024, representing an increase of 36 percent over the previous year. These funds were channeled into various projects, including land reclamation at the Freudenau port, the purchase of a commercial property in Simmering (HQ1), and the construction of state-of-the-art film studios on the HQ7 site. The construction of six lightweight halls for a major customer, the renovation of roofs, and the optimization of fire protection also contributed to strengthening the infrastructure.
"Our strategy was and is to consistently and sustainably strengthen and expand the Port of Vienna as a national and international logistics hub. We will continue to pursue this path consistently in the future," said Barbara Novak, City Councilor for Finance and Economic Affairs. She also emphasized the importance of the 14-meter-high port gate in Albern, built in 2022, which successfully protected the port and the companies located there during the flood of the century in September 2024.
Success through real estate, logistics, and the film industry
The real estate division and the “Warehouse Logistics” business unit, whose warehouses were well utilized, contributed significantly to the positive business results. Handling activities in the “bulk & heavy cargo” sector also developed positively, with a 55 percent increase in land-side tonnage handled at the Port of Freudenau and an impressive water-side increase of over 200 percent. The latter underscores the growing importance and potential of water-side transport.
A new business segment that has successfully established itself is the film industry. The HQ7 Studios in Simmering, completed in fall 2024 and consisting of two halls with over 3,000 square meters of space, already recorded five completed productions in its first year, including scenes from the TV series “Crystal Wall.”
WienCont: Strong performance despite difficult conditions
WienCont, a subsidiary of the Port of Vienna that operates the container terminal and container business, increased its turnover by five percent to 20.3 million euros in 2024. This was achieved despite the difficult global economic situation and the ongoing recession in the transport sector. A total of almost 470,000 container units (TEU) were handled. The container repair sector performed particularly well, with an increase of 39 percent.
As part of its digitalization efforts, WienCont commissioned a new IT-supported container registration system, and the “Rail OCR Gate” project optimized the handling of container trains. Around 126 trains per week connect the Port of Vienna with major European seaports such as Rotterdam, Hamburg, and Bremerhaven, as well as economic areas in Central and Eastern Europe.
Sustainability and outlook
The Port of Vienna continues to focus consistently on climate neutrality. Since the beginning of 2024, all vehicles at the terminal have been powered exclusively by the alternative fuel HVO 100. The photovoltaic system installed in 2023 was expanded and put into operation in 2024. With the sixth and largest PV system planned for 2025 in cooperation with Wien Energie, the port's own electricity requirements are set to rise to 34 percent, to become climate-neutral by 2040.
Further investments in building and site renovations are planned for 2025. A major milestone is the expansion of the Freudenau container terminal by 2034 to double storage capacity and build an additional terminal with container gantry cranes. The aim is to increase the capacity of container units shipped to approximately 1,000,000 TEU, thereby shifting more goods from road to rail.