Kuehne + Nagel aims to grow twice as fast as market

The Switzerland-based freight forwarder and logistics company reports both increased sales and profit for 2018.    Kuehne + Nagel International AG (K+N), the large Switzerland-based freight forwarder and logistics company, reported sales in 2018 of 24.83 billion Swiss francs ($24.86 billion), 11.9 percent more than the 22.22 billion francs it reported in 2017.
   K+N’s profit in 2018 was 772 million francs in 2018, 4.3 percent more than the 740 million francs in 2017. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization and impairment of property, plant and equipment, goodwill and other intangible assets (EBITDA) was 1.2 billion francs, a 5.1 percent increase over the prior year, while earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) improved by 5.3 percent to 987 million francs.
   Detlef Trefzger, chief executive officer of K+N, said, “Even though the growth momentum of the global economy slowed down at the end of 2018, we confirm our goals for the year ahead. In 2019, we aim at growing twice as fast as the market and improving our results further, complemented with selected acquisitions to our portfolio.”
   K+N’s acquisitions in 2018 included the purchase of Quick International Courier, a company that provides transportation and logistics solutions for time-critical deliveries including “next day out” and “next flight out” services. It specializes in services for the aviation, pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Other acquisitions included the purchase of the remaining 50 percent of Kuehne + Nagel Drinkflow Logistics (Holdings) Ltd. in Great Britain, Panatlantic Logistics S.A. in Ecuador and PT Wira Logitama Saksama in Indonesia.
   Trefzger added, “Consistent implementation of our business strategy was decisive for this success. By introducing additional digital platforms, with new highly specialized solutions and targeted acquisitions, we reached important milestones last year and will continue to pursue our journey.”
   The company offered these comments about individual market segments:
   • Seafreight
   K+N said it handled 4.7 million TEUs of containerized cargo in 2018 — or 7.7 percent more than in 2017 — and by gaining market share, strengthened its position as the global market leader in seafreight forwarding.
   It said significant new business was won with KN ESP, a new digital supplier management system for key accounts introduced in early 2018. The company also launched another new digital platform, Sea Explorer, to provide customers with “detailed comparisons for carrier services.”
   “Strong growth was recorded in the Asia-Europe trade and in U.S. imports, particularly from Asia. In addition, intra-Asian trade lanes grew again last year. With three alliances and seven carriers in the market, the supply of capacity impacted margins, which varied substantially, depending on region, trade lane and product. While the margins in European exports were under considerable pressure, those in Asia-Europe trade were growing.”
   • Airfreight
   K+N said its airfreight tonnage grew by 11 percent to 1.7 million tons, “thereby achieving significantly higher growth than the overall market. Industry-specific solutions for the pharmaceutical and healthcare and aviation industries played an important role in this growth.”
   It said it pursues an active merger and acquisition strategy that includes last year’s purchase of Quick.
   • Overland
   K+N said net turnover in is overland business grew by 13.1 percent. “Business in European groupage and less-than-truckload shipments were the primary growth drivers, as well as intermodal shipments and transport management for major customers in North America,” it said.
   The company said it “continues to expand on its digital competence and aims at systematically increasing the number of automated shipments to further raise efficiency.”
   • Contract logistics
   In contract logistics, K+N said it increased net turnover by 9 percent and gross profit by 8.8 percent and said it grew significantly in the U.S. and Asia. It said growth rates were more than 40 percent in e-commerce fulfilment. However, it said EBIT in the segment fell 14.3 percent when compared to the prior year “due to the review of the project portfolio and investments for a new global warehouse management system, used for the operational control of the Group’s worldwide fulfilment centers.”
   It said acquisitions strengthened its “position as a leading international logistics provider for China’s automotive industry and expanded its e-commerce offering in Indonesia.”
   K+N managed 11.6 million square meters of warehouse and logistics space for its customers.