TNT’s Q3 performance declines

   TNT Express said Thursday it expects muted growth for its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) business and “continuing negative performance” in the Americas.
   In its third quarter business update, TNT said trading was “relatively resilient” in its EMEA region, with cost controls helping to “mitigate revenue pressure.”
   In the Americas region, “Brazil’s operational quality continued to improve but revenue was not sufficient to cover the past loss of major customers,” TNT said. “Progress has been made towards the 2012 turnaround deadline.”
   In the Asia-Pacific region “profitability suffered from continuing weak Asia-Europe demand, leading to sub-optimal capacity utilization in a soft pricing environment. The company continues actively to optimize its exposure to intercontinental capacity. Domestic China saw an improved product mix but this was offset by general and wage cost inflation.”
   TNT said it will seek to build cash flow by tightening capital expenditure and better managing working capital. The company will release its third quarter results at the end of October.