DHL Supply Chain’s operating profit rose almost 40 per cent in the second quarter to €109m, while sales were up 2.3 per cent to €3.6bn.
Growth was fuelled by gains in emerging markets and in the automotive and life sciences & healthcare sectors.
“The volume of new contracts concluded with new and existing customers totalled €335 m in the second quarter of 2014, roughly the same level as in the last two years,” the group said.
The sharp rise in operating earnings reflected the absence of one-time expenses related to business disposals and restructuring expenditures that had a negative impact on the previous year’s result.
“Adjusted for these factors, operating earnings still rose substantially by about 9 per cent between April and June 2014.”
The Express division also performed strongly with an 18 per cent rise in EBIT to €332m. Parent Deutsche Post DHL said the key reasons for the division’s profitability gain were increased operating profitability of the network and the systematic management of indirect costs. Sales rose from €3bn in the second quarter last year to €3.1bn this year
In the Global Forwarding, Freight division, sales were down 1.9 per cent to €3.6 billion during the second quarter as a result of challenging business conditions. EBIT declined from €127 m in the second quarter of 2013 to €100 m in 2014.
Operating profit in the Post – e-commerce – Parcel division fell to €188 m in the second quarter of 2014 from €238m the year before. Revenue was unchanged at €3.6bn.
For the group as a whole, revenue rose by nearly €100 m to €13.7 billion in the second quarter of 2014. And EBIT was up from €619 m in 2013 to €654 m this year.
For the remainder of 2014, the Group believes that the positive earnings trend will continue and that consolidated EBIT will rise to between €2.9 billion and €3.1 billion.
CEO Frank Appel said: “To reach our goal of defining all aspects of the logistics industry by 2020, we intend to build on our strengths and forge ahead in the key initiatives announced. For this reason, we are investing in the continued optimization of our divisions and will remain focused not on the Group’s short-term profitability, but on its long-term and sustainable success. The identified measures will make an important contribution to our strategy and will do much to help us become the driving force in the industry.”
