Kuehne+Nagel Group Reports Third Quarter 2024 Profit Growth

• Increase in demand for flexible logistics services due to continued supply chain disruptions
• Higher quarterly profitability in maritime and air units
• Quarterly growth in free cash flow

From January to September 2024, the Kuehne+Nagel Group achieved a net turnover of CHF 18.0 billion, an EBIT of CHF 1.2 billion, and a profit of CHF 915 million. Key indicators were positive in the third quarter of 2024. For the first time since the end of the pandemic, EBIT and profit increased both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year in Q3 2024.

The conversion rate, which describes the ratio of EBIT to the Group’s gross profit, was 19% from January to September 2024. This was impacted by negative exchange rate differences of 2% and one-off restructuring costs of CHF 17 million recorded in the second quarter of 2024.

Stefan Paul, CEO of Kuehne+Nagel International AG:

“The highly flexible logistics solutions of Kuehne+Nagel have once again proved to be a clear advantage for our customers in the face of growing supply chain disruptions worldwide. This is also reflected in our positive business development. The strategic streamlining of the company by eliminating the regional structure is beginning to bear fruit. We have also reached an important milestone in our strategy thanks to the smooth migration to the cloud of our management system for maritime and air logistics”.

Maritime logistics

Net turnover in maritime logistics from January to September 2024 amounted to CHF 6.7 billion with an operating profit (EBIT) of CHF 653 million. The volume until the end of September 2024 amounted to 3.2 million containers (TEU). The conversion rate was at a high level of 42%. Thirty-seven new locations have been opened in the network so far.

Seaexplorer.com, the digital platform, proved to be a reliable source of information for customers using maritime services worldwide, especially during recent supply chain disruptions such as the Red Sea crisis and east coast US port strike. Thanks to data aggregation in SeaExplorer, port circumstances and containership positions can be tracked in real time.

Air logistics

The air logistics unit’s net turnover amounted to CHF 5.2 billion, and EBIT to CHF 330 million for the period from January to September 2024. Overall, the division served 1.5 million tons of air freight in the first nine months of 2024, 6% more year on year. Most of the growth was recorded in the perishable goods segment.

Thanks to Cathay Pacific, Kuehne+Nagel for the first time included an Asian partner airline in its Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) program. In addition, Kuehne+Nagel uses SAF for Mercedes-Benz for air transport in its own B747 aircraft from Germany to the USA. This reduces CO2 emissions by about 11,000 tons per year.

Road logistics

The road division had a net turnover of 2.6 billion CHF, and an EBIT of 88 million CHF for the period from January to September 2024. Due to macroeconomic changes, the usage of the European transport network was lower year on year.

In August 2024, Kuehne+Nagel successfully completed the acquisition of Malaysian company City Zone Express. As a result, Kuehne+Nagel can now offer less than container load (LCL) shipping services from China to major hubs in Southeast Asia.

Contract logistics

With net turnover of 3.5 billion CHF and an EBIT of 162 million CHF, contract logistics once again achieved a very good result in the period from January to September 2024.

In September 2024, Kuehne+Nagel opened a highly automated and sustainable logistics center for Southern and Eastern Europe for Adidas in Mantova, Northern Italy. The facility, covering more than 130,000 square meters, can process up to half a million shipments per day, serving every retail sales channel – from individual e-commerce packages to bulk orders for large retailers.

Source: https://managerplus.pl/wyniki-finansowe-grupy-kuehnenagel-wzrost-zyskow-w-trzecim-kwartale-2024-r-90797