22
October
2007
|
06:52
Europe/Berlin

9 Months Results 2007 - Strong turnover and profit growth

The globally operating Kuehne + Nagel Group accelerated growth of turnover and earnings continuously during the first nine months of 2007. Compared with the previous year’s period, turnover increased 15.7 per cent to CHF 15,378 million, and the operational result (EBITDA) improved 16.0 per cent to CHF 709 million. Net earnings amounted to CHF 408 million, an increase of 29.9 per cent.

 


Kuehne + Nagel Group

January - September

 

 

 

in CHF million

2005

2006

2007

Turnover

10,079

13,289

15,378

Gross profit

2,012

3,824

4,427

EBITDA

399

611

709

EBT

305

429

539

Net earnings

215

314

408

 


 

Seafreight

Once again, Kuehne + Nagel's seafreight division performed exceptionally well, recording a 16 per cent rise in volumes, despite growth in the global seafreight market slowed to 7 to 8 per cent. Thanks to its proven capacity management, Kuehne + Nagel was able to considerably increase container volumes in the booming Asia-Pacific trade lanes. Demand for the company's IT-based services increased worldwide, especially in Australia / New Zealand, Central America and Eastern Europe. The EBITDA margin remained stable at 4.2 per cent. The operational result improved 15.2 per cent, year-on-year.

Airfreight

Due to new business wins and contract extensions, largely the result of an intensified key account management, Kuehne + Nagel's airfreight business continued its excellent performance. Tonnage increased 15 per cent, despite underlying market growth of only around 4 per cent in the first nine months of the year. Productivity increases and efficient cost management led to a 31.5 per cent operational result improvement. The EBITDA margin rose to 5.5 per cent.

Rail & Road Logistics

In the third quarter, Kuehne + Nagel's overland activities made further progress in line with the company's ambitious growth strategy. Nine-month turnover increased 16.9 per cent, more than double the market growth. At the same time, Kuehne + Nagel invested further in the expansion and consolidation of the network. For the first nine months, the operational result was 18.1 per cent lower than last year; however the operational result for the third quarter increased CHF 2.2 million, compared with the previous year's quarter. The EBITDA margin was at 1.2 per cent.

Contract Logistics

In Contract Logistics, where growth and margins were maintained at high levels despite the traditionally weaker summer period, the strong performance was largely driven by the company's innovative concepts. At 20.4 per cent, Kuehne + Nagel's turnover growth outperformed the market three-fold. Margins were improved to 5.0 per cent thanks to productivity increases and enhanced production flexibility. The operational result rose 23.0 per cent.

Klaus Herms, CEO of Kuehne + Nagel International AG: "Our dynamic growth is a result of strong global trade and our ability to offer customers value-adding, integrated services worldwide. The effective implementation of our strategy is reflected in the constant growth rates recorded across our business units and regions. We are confident that this trend will continue and we will exceed last year's good results."