Panalpina: Trade down in nearly all trade lanes

Panalpina: Trade down in nearly all trade lanes    Panalpina said it had second quarter consolidated profit of 15 million Swiss francs ($14.1 million) compared to 44.5 million Swiss francs ($41.8 million) in the second quarter of 2008.
   The company said these were “a solid result in a difficult market environment” because of “strict cost management and a consistently implemented cost-cutting program.”
   Forwarding services revenue was 1.7 billion Swiss francs ($1.6 billion) compared to 2.6 billion Swiss francs ($2.4 billion) in the same 2008 period
   “Panalpina suffered a sharp fall in ocean and air freight volumes in nearly all trade lanes. Newly acquired businesses also failed to make up for the losses, which had a negative impact on the first-half results,' said Monika Ribar, chief executive officer.

Ribar

   “Thanks to our consistently implemented cost management program, coupled with an excellent cash flow position and a forward-looking sales strategy, we are well-positioned to master the challenges of the global business environment, which is expected to remain difficult in the second half-year,' Ribar said.
   The company said freight volumes were higher in the second quarter compared with the first three months, but that global freight in nearly all trade lanes were lower in compared with the same period the prior year.
   It said positive trends were reported in niche lanes such as Asia-Oceania and intra-Asia, but this was insufficient to compensate for the drop in traffic between Asia and Europe and on the transatlantic and transpacific shipping routes
   “Massive cuts in production in key industries — notably automotive, high-tech and telecommunications — had a major impact on Panalpina, which has a strong presence in these sectors,' the company said. 'The market was also affected by a cutthroat price war, with transport prices well below cost. While Panalpina remains committed to its goal of faster-than-market growth over the long term, the group intends to refrain from short-term acquisition of market shares at the expense of profitability.”
   “The additional cost-cutting program announced in March has already yielded positive results,” the company said, noting that about 11 percent of its global workforce had been cut by the end of June. At the end of the first half-year Panalpina had 1,700 fewer full-time positions than at the end of 2008.