Kuehne + Nagel’s profits grow in Q1 2016

The Swiss-based third-party logistics provider increased net profits 10.5 percent year-over-year to 169 million Swiss francs for the first quarter of 2016.    The Kuehne + Nagel Group increased net profits 10.5 percent year-over-year to 169 million Swiss francs (U.S. $175.9 million) for the first quarter of 2016, according to the third-party logistics provider’s most recent unaudited financial statements.
   Gross profits rose 6.4 percent from the first quarter of 2015 to CHF 1.6 billion. Meanwhile, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization surged 11.2 percent year-over-year to CHF 259 million for the quarter.
   The seafreight division expanded container volumes 6 percent year-over-year during the quarter. The division grew gross profit per TEU 1.4 percent year-over-year and increased its conversion rate from 29 percent for the first quarter of 2015 to 30.7 percent for the first quarter of 2016.
   The airfreight division’s volumes remained stable compared to the corresponding period last year. “In the previous year’s period, volumes were additionally increased by a temporary shift of goods from sea to airfreight due to the harbor strike on the US West Coast,” the company said. “Kuehne + Nagel counteracted the unfavorable volume development in North and South America with strong export business in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and thus, managed to keep overall tonnage stable at the previous year’s level.”
   In addition, the division’s conversion rate rose from 30.8 percent for the first quarter of 2015 to 31.1 percent for the first quarter of 2016.
   Net turnover for the overland division jumped 18.4 percent year-over-year during the quarter, exceeding market growth, which Kuehne + Nagel attributed to the good performance of multimodal transportation management solutions provider American ReTrans Group, which it acquired in 2015, along with solid development of activities in the European overland business.
   The contract logistics division saw net turnover rise 6.4 percent year-over-year during the quarter. Earnings before interest and tax for the division increased 37.5 percent from the first quarter of 2015 to CHF 33 million, which Kuehne + Nagel attributed to operational improvements and the stabilization of drinks logistics in the United Kingdom.