K + N improves earnings in first nine months of 2015

Third-party logistics provider Kuehne + Nagel posted a 6.7 percent year-over-year increase in net profits for the first nine months of 2015.    The Swiss-based Kuehne + Nagel Group posted net profits of 512 million Swiss francs (U.S. $533.35 million) for the first nine months of 2015, a year-over-year increase of 6.7 percent.
   Net turnover for the period stood at CHF 12.4 billion, while gross profits stood at CHF 4.6 billion, down 4.4 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively from the first nine months of 2014.
   The third-party logistics provider attributed the decrease in net turnover and gross profits primarily to impacts from changes in currency values.
   During the first nine months of 2015, K + N grew its seafreight division’s gross profit per TEU 4.4 percent and increased its conversion rate from 30.2 percent to 32.7 percent from the same period last year.
   The company’s airfreight division posted a 5.1 percent year-over-year increase in volumes for the first nine months of the year.
   “The increasing demand for specialized services in the industry segments automotive, pharma, aerospace and perishables contributed to this favorable development as did the good performance in Asia, Europe and North America,” the company said in a statement. In addition, the conversion rate increased from 27.5 percent to 30 percent, in comparison to last year’s first nine months.
   K + N’s overland division saw net turnover decline by 12.1 percent, which the company attributed to the discontinuation of project business and lower rates from a decline in diesel prices. In Aug. 2015, Kuehne + Nagel acquired ReTrans, a multimodal transportation management solutions provider. The acquisition is designed to build on the 3PL’s overland growth strategy and strengthen its position as an end-to-end logistics provider in North America, Kuehne + Nagel said in a statement.
   The company’s contract logistics unit decreased EBIT by CHF 21 million to CHF 86 million in comparison to the previous year’s first nine months. 
   “In the third quarter we further improved our results, especially in seafreight and airfreight,” Kuehne + Nagel CEO Detlef Trefzger said of the results. “The development in overland is solid and the optimization of selective projects in contract logistics is proceeding as planned. Our strong focus on innovative logistics services and strict cost management enabled growth in profits in a demanding market environment.”