Panalpina’s first half profit soars 56%

PanalpinaÆs first half profit soars 56%    Panalpina today reported first half net income of Swiss francs 108.4 million ($89 million), up 56.4 percent from CHF69.3 million in the first six months of 2006.
   The Swiss forwarding and logistics group’s earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased 53.5 percent to CHF148.3 million ($122 million) from CHF96.6 million. Gross revenue in the first half improved 12.1 percent to CHF4.97 billion ($4.08 billion) with net forwarding revenue up 9.3 percent to CHF4.03 billion ($3.30 billion).
   Panalpina's revenue from ocean freight rose 12.9 percent to CHF1.52 billion ($1.25 billion) with volumes rising 14.6 percent. Air freight turnover grew 7.9 percent to CHF1.87 billion ($1.53 billion) on a 9.4 percent volume increase. For supply chain management, revenue was up 4.9 percent to CHF637 million ($523 million).
   On a regional basis, net forwarding revenue in Panalpina’s largest market, Europe/Africa/Middle East/CIS, increased 13.1 percent in the first half to CHF2.35 billion ($1.93 billion), followed by Central and South America, which improved 12.5 percent to CHF378 million ($310 million). Asia/Pacific showed a 9.4 percent revenue increase to CHF491 million ($779 million) while North America declined 1.6 percent to CHF813 million ($667 million).
   “I am very satisfied with Panalpina's figures for the first half of 2007,' said Monika Ribar, Panalpina's chief executive officer. “After an exceptionally outstanding first quarter, we are in a position to report further convincing results that are in line with our ambitious growth targets.
   “I am especially pleased that we were able to expand gross profit at a faster rate than our turnover, while the month of June even showed the highest gross revenue in the company’s history. This solid development was underpinned by favorable market conditions and continued demand from our customers, but it also proves the soundness of Panalpina's business model and the outstanding performance of our dedicated staff around the globe.'
   Panalpina is confident about its prospects in the year ahead. 'The group expects a further solid macroeconomic environment and foresees the developments in Europe/Africa/Middle East/CIS as well as in Asia/Pacific to more than offset any possible economic slowdown that might be encountered in the U.S. As a consequence of the positive effects of growing globalization, Panalpina rates the overall market trends as extremely favorable and is confident in meeting its targets for 2007.”