Panalpina’s air freight volumes rise amid lower ocean freight volumes

Gross profits for the first nine months of 2016 remained practically unchanged from the same period last year, since the growth in air freight volumes offset the drop in ocean freight volumes, Panalpina CEO Stefan Karlen explained.    Swiss-based international freight forwarding and logistics company Panalpina had consolidated profits of 46.5 million Swiss francs (U.S. $46.6 million) for the first nine months of 2016, a 33 percent year-over-year decline, according to the company’s most recent financial statements.
   Basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS) totaled CHF 2.01 per share for the first nine months of 2016, a steep drop from the CHF 2.91 per share for the corresponding period last year.
   Net forwarding revenues fell 12 percent year-over-year to CHF 3.9 billion.
   Air freight volumes rose 9 percent from the first nine months of last year, despite the market falling by an estimated 1 percent. The recently acquired perishables business accounted for 6 percent volumes growth, while new business accounted for the remaining 3 percent of volumes growth in the air freight segment.
   Meanwhile, ocean freight volumes for the first nine months of 2016 fell 9 percent year-over-year, while the market shrank by an estimated 1 percent. Panalpina primarily attributed the decline in ocean freight volumes to significantly lower volumes in oil and gas since the start of the year, along with a discontinued high-volume contract.
   Since the growth in airfreight volumes offset the decline in ocean freight volumes for the first nine months of 2016, Panalpina’s gross profits were practically unchanged when compared to a year prior, Panalpina CEO Stefan Karlen explained. Gross profits for the first nine months of 2016 fell just 1 percent year-over-year to CHF 1.1 billion.
   For the third quarter of 2016, Panalpina’s consolidated profits ticked up 3 percent year-over-year to CHF 24.6 million. Basic and diluted EPS for the quarter rose to CHF 1.06 per share, compared to CHF 1.00 per share a year prior. However, net forwarding revenues for the quarter tumbled 13 percent year-over-year to CHF 1.3 billion.