DHL saw strong profits growth in the express market in the first quarter with EBIT up by more than 14 per cent to €275m (2013: €241m).
Sales for the quarter up from €2.8 bn in 2013 to €2.9 bn this year. Strong growth in the division’s international time-definite shipments was the main factor fuelling this revenue improvement, it said.
IN contrast, sales and EBIT fell in the Global Forwarding and Freight division. EBIT was from €87m last year to €48m in 2014 while revenue slipped from €3.6bn to €3.5bn.
However, it said, adjusted for negative exchange-rate effects, however, revenues rose by 2.5 per cent. Volumes and revenues in the air-freight business remained at the previous year’s level primarily because of weak demand from some major customers in the technology and engineering & manufacturing sectors. At the same time, volumes and revenues in ocean freight climbed.
It said the decline in profits was due to the planned rise in expenses for the division’s new IT infrastructure and general margin pressure.
At DHL Supply Chain, revenues rose marginally to €3.5bn, while at €84m, the division’s EBIT in the first quarter of 2014 stood on roughly the same level as in the prior year’s quarter (2013: €83m).
The volume of new contracts with new and existing customers totalled €175m in the first quarter, a level that was below the previous year’s first quarter total.
The company said that the decline, however, resulted largely from the exceptionally high number of contracts signed at the end of 2013. “The annualized contract renewal rate remained high.”
Total group revenue was up one per cent to €13.6bn for the quarter, while consolidated EBIT increased by more than two per cent to €726m.
