Schindellegi, Switzerland: Kuehne+Nage, which reported a fall in operating profits and turnover in the first quarter, warns of “major challenges” to come as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were CHF184m ($189m), down 24% from 242m in Q1 2019. Net turnover fell 6.2% to 4,912m and earnings per share fell 23.3%.
Kuehne+Nagel’s Sea Logistics division suffered the bulk of the losses with EBIT down from 112million in 2019 to 79million in the first quarter of 2020. K+N blamed the loss on “significant double-digit decline in volume demand to and from China”.
Detlef Trefzger, chief executive, Kuehne + Nagel International said: “The coronavirus pandemic is an immense global challenge, also for Kuehne + Nagel. Industrial production and trade volumes weakened significantly.
“In this situation, Kuehne + Nagel maintained its operational performance, closely managed a number of specialty businesses and won new customers. In the case of basic commodities and pharmaceuticals, transport volumes were maintained at a respectable level.
“Our company will face major challenges in the coming months, but is well positioned in view of its customer proximity, agility and digital offerings. A high level of liquidity characterises the company’s solid financial strength,” he said.
K+N’s road logistics business struggled in the latter part of the first quarter after a “solid” start to 2020. From March onwards, K+N said volumes in Europe (especially France, Great Britain and Italy) and North America (primarily the intermodal business) had declined.
“All sectors were affected, with the exception of e-commerce and pharma,” it added.
The pandemic appear to be hastening web based systems for freight logistics with Kuehne+Nagel’s MyKN customer platform reporting145% increase in active users in the first quarter compared with the same period of the previous year.
