Panalpina posts flat results in Q3 2015

The freight forwarding and logistics company reported consolidated profits of 24 million Swiss francs on revenues of 1.5 billion Swiss francs in the third quarter.    The Panalpina Group posted consolidated profits of 24 million Swiss francs ($25.2 million) in the third quarter of 2015, compared with CHF 25.2 million in the third quarter of 2014, the company said. For the first nine months of 2015, consolidated profits stood at CHF 69.3 million, a negligible change from the CHF 69.2 million during the same period in 2014.
   The freight forwarding and logistics company posted an EBIT of CHF 32 million in the third quarter, compared with CHF 34.3 million in the third quarter last year. For the first nine months of the year, Panalpina’s EBIT stood at CHF 92.4 million, compared with CHF 94.4 million during the same period last year.
   “In the first nine months of the year we succeeded in keeping EBIT and consolidated profit at previous year levels, despite a contracting air freight market in the third quarter, our exposure to the oil and gas industry and historically high IT investments,” Panalpina CEO Peter Ulber said in a statement.
   The company posted a net forwarding revenue of CHF 1.5 billion in the third quarter, a decline from the CHF 1.7 billion in the third quarter of 2014, while the net forwarding revenue in the first nine months of 2015 stood at CHF 4.4 billion, compared with CHF 5 billion in the first nine months of 2014.
   Panalpina’s airfreight volumes decreased 2 percent in the first nine months of 2015, while the market grew by less than 1 percent. The company transported less oil, gas and automotive cargo, however it carried more perishables. Gross profit for the airfreight division fell 6.2 percent to CHF 439.7 million on a 4 percent decrease in gross profit per ton to CHF 715.
   Panalpina’s ocean freight volumes grew one percent in the first nine months of the year, slightly below the market growth of 2 percent. Gross profit for the division fell 2.2 percent to CHF 362.2 million on a 3 percent decrease in gross profit per TEU to CHF 300.
   The logistics division saw gross profits drop 10 percent to CHF 305.5 million for the first nine months of 2015, which the company said was a result of currency translation and the exit from underperforming sites.
   “The air and ocean freight markets will continue to be soft at best and a rebound of the oil price in the near future seems unlikely. It is all the more important that we continue to control cost with great discipline and implement new IT systems and processes in order to improve our productivity,” Ulber said. “We will accelerate our investments in less cyclical business to further reduce our exposure to certain industries.”