PANALPINA REPORTS 16% RISE IN ANNUAL NET PROFIT

PANALPINA REPORTS 16% RISE IN ANNUAL NET PROFIT    Panalpina, the Swiss forwarding and logistics group, reported an increase of 16 percent in its net income for 1999, to 73 million Swiss francs ($47 million).
   The result compares to a net income of SFr63 million in 1998.
   Gross revenue increased by 5 percent last year, to SFr5.44 billion ($3.49 billion). Net revenue, excluding customs, duties and taxes, was SFr4.21 billion ($2.7 billion), up 2 percent on 1998.
   Gross profit increased by 7 percent, to SFr962 million ($617 million) and operating profit was up by 8 percent, to SFr104 million ($67 million).
   The increase in operating profit was due mainly to higher net gains on sales of non-current assets, which produced a profit of SFr33 million ($21 million) in 1999, as compared to a SFr12-million profit in the previous year.
   Gerhard Fischer, chairman of the board of Panalpina, said that the operating profit was lower owing to investments in time-definite airfreight products, new logistics management and financial services and e-commerce.
   Fischer said that Panalpina had succeeded over the past year in further strengthening its position as one of the world’s leading providers of airfreight and oceanfreight services. “Based on this strategic orientation, emphasis is now being placed on the group’s transition from integrated forwarder to provider of integrated supply and demand chain management services,” a spokesman for Panalpina said.
      Last month, SwissGlobalCargo, the joint venture between SAirLogistics and Panalpina, introduced a time-definite door-to-door airfreight product with no weight restrictions on the route between Europe and the U.S./Mexico. The “all.in” service is swiftly being extended to new routes, the company said.
   Fischer said that this product gives Panalpina “a foothold in a highly sought-after market niche offering considerably higher margins compared to traditional airfreight.”
   Bruno Sidler, chief executive officer of Panalpina, said that the group is following a philosophy of growing on the strength of its own resources. “Given the right conditions, however, targeted acquisitions or strategic alliances would not be ruled out,” a spokesman for Panalpina said.