Panalpina managed to maintain its operating profit in the first half of 2015, despite tough trading conditions that hit revenue and gross profit.
EBIT, at CHF 60.4 million was slightly up on last year’s figure of CHF 60.1m. Net forwarding revenue was down from CHF 3.2 billion to CHF 2.9bn, while gross profit was down from CHF 778m to CHF 736m.
Air freight volumes fell two per cent in the first six months of 2015, while the market grew by one to two per cent. Panalpina blamed lower volumes in the automotive and energy sector for the decrease. EBIT in air freight fell to CHF 46m from CHF 57m last year.
Ocean Freight performed more strongly with volumes up three per cent. EBIT rose to CHF 12.8m from CHF 7.2m last year.
The group’s Logistics gross profit decreased seven per cent to CHF 205.2m as a result of currency translation and the exit from underperforming sites. However, it posted a positive EBIT of CHF 1.5m compared to an EBIT loss of CHF 4.3m in the first half of last year.
CEO Peter Ulber said: “We are doing an increasingly better job of getting our costs under control. Currency adjusted, profitability was higher than last year.
“Our main focus remains on cost control and improving productivity. We have come a long way in cutting losses and transforming our operations, but we still see a lot of upside potential. Despite the headwind in the energy sector, we are confident that we can recover lost ground in Air Freight during the second half of the year. Our pipeline looks promising.”
