K + N sees marginal 1st quarter profit slide

   Logistics group Kuehne + Nagel said Monday its currency-adjusted first quarter operating profit was 3.2 percent lower than the corresponding period in 2008.
   K + N said 'an effective cost-cutting program and increased sales activities' were able to counteract the 'severe, recession-related decline in volumes in the transport and logistics business.'
   Net profit dropped 16 percent from $131 million in the first three months of 2008, to $109 million in the first quarter this year. Revenue decreased 19 percent to $3.7 billion.

Lange

In the sea freight sector, K + N said its cargo volume dropped 13 percent — which it said was less than the average for the industry — in part because it secured additional market share in March. Volume decline in the air freight market, one that was 'particularly affected by the recession' was 17.9 percent. Demand in road and rail, and in contract logistics, also weakened, the company said.
'The solid performance in the first quarter confirms the efficiency of the measures we have taken at an early stage and implemented on a worldwide scale to adapt our enterprise to today's economic environment,' said Reinhard Lange, chief executive officer of Kuehne + Nagel International AG, in a statement. 'Since it remains impossible to predict by when the global economy will recover, we will adhere to our dual strategy of rigorous cost control with a commitment to market share expansion.'

FreightWaves Staff