Panalpina’s gross profit rose to CHF384.3m in the first quarter from CHF365.8m for the first quarter last year.
“We had a decent start into 2014,” said CEO Peter Ulber. “In the first three months of the year, air and ocean freight showed continued growth ahead of the market, and in logistics we made progress in reducing the losses. Group EBIT and EBIT-to-gross profit margin increased both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.”
From January to March, Panalpina’s volumes in both air and ocean freight grew by 6 per cent. EBIT in the same period increased almost a third to CHF 24.5 million.
The company expects the air freight market to grow by 2 to 3 per cent and the ocean freight market by 4 to 5 per cent in 2014.