REVENUE RISES 7% AT KUEHNE & NAGEL

REVENUE RISES 7% AT KUEHNE & NAGEL    Kuehne & Nagel’s group revenue increased by 7 percent in the first quarter, to CHF2.2 billion ($1.6 billion), when compared to the same quarter of 2002.
   The Swiss forwarding and logistics group said that it could report a stable result for the first quarter, despite a difficult economic situation in important markets.
   Kuehne & Nagel’s revenue from international forwarding grew by 9 percent in the first quarter, to CHF1.9 billion ($1.4 billion). In seafreight forwarding, pressure on the margins increased “temporarily,” the group said. In airfreight, growth in volume and effective cost management resulted in an improvement of the operational profit to CHF18.5 million ($14 million) for the latest quarter.
   Revenue from contract logistics decreased by 2 percent, to CHF272 million ($199 million).
   Contract logistics activities in Europe remained at the same level as in the previous year. But empty space in the shared warehousing business in North America, as well as start-up costs for new warehousing contracts, led to a lower operational result of CHF5.3 million ($4 million) in the latest quarter, down from CHF9.5 million a year earlier.
   Group earnings before interest and tax fell to CHF52 million ($38 million), from CHF54 million in the first quarter of 2002. Net income also decreased slightly, to CHF36 million ($26 million) in the latest quarter, from CHF38 million a year earlier.