Ceva Logistics maintained EBITDA at $80m for the third quarter despite a decline in revenue to $2.1bn from $2.3bn in the third quarter last year.
Chief executive officer Marvin O Schlanger said: “While the overall market remains sluggish, our actions over the previous months have strengthened the company’s financial position resulting in real traction in the market and a strong cash position. A significantly stronger Ceva further improves our ability to serve the needs of customers.
Contract Logistics was the strongest performer with sales of $1,159 million against $1,189 million in Q3 2012, with organic growth and new wins offsetting terminated contracts. EBITDA in contract logistics was up 52 per cent.
Revenue in Freight Management declined by 13.3 per cent against the same period in 2012 due to market conditions and decisions Ceva made regarding unprofitable contracts. EBITDA was down 59 per cent on Q3 2012 driven by weaker airfreight volumes.
“Our Contract Logistics business has recovered well. Ocean freight volumes are stable, but we recognise that our Airfreight volumes are not where we want them to be. We are working to address this and strengthen the freight business in the coming quarters. We added resources to both our Freight Management and Business Development teams. This will catalyse new growth for our freight network. The positive impact of these changes are evidenced by recent customer wins.”
New wins included an expanded relationship with Ford; a new three year deal with Michelin; an expanded contract with Avon; the addition of Rolls-Royce and Pigeon as part of a new green logistics centre opened in Singapore; creation of a technology campus in Nashville, TN; a new healthcare hub in Miami; and the opening of the company’s second Centre for Logistics Excellence, serving Asia Pacific.
* Marvin O Schlanger will retire as CEO in January and resume his position as non-executive chairman. He will be succeeded by Xavier Urbain, who has held senior executive positions at Kuehne + Nagel and as CEO of ACR Logistics.
