BLG posted a total revenue figure of €1.14bn for 2018, an increase of €53.5m or 4.9% on 2017 numbers. EBIT also increased by €4m to €37.5m. Its EBIT margin again increased from 2017 to 3.3%.
Contract logistics is the largest division in terms of revenue. Revenue grew to €600m in 2018, an increase of €51.4m or 9.4% on 2017. Its EBIT increased from €4.6m in 2017 to €7.3m in 2018. BLG attributed the expansion of the business to existing and new customers in industrial and retail logistics as well as the growth of the forwarding division. Since last year, this division has been operating under the name BLG International Forwarding GmbH & Co. KG.
The automobile division delivered revenue of €553.1m, a small increase of 0.5%. Stable handling volumes and business developments are the reasons behind the slight growth. EBIT increased by 18% from €13.2m to €15.5m. The division handled, transported and technically processed 6.5m vehicles up 3.6% from the previous year.
The container division of the BLG Group is represented by half of the shares in EUROGATE. In 2018 the division generated revenue of €604m, €302m of this was BLG’s share, compared to €304m in 2018. The small downturn is due to difficult general conditions. The second half for 2018 saw a positive turn – the container terminal in Hamburg achieved a significant increase in volumes – reversing the negative trend of the two previous years. For the third consecutive year, the EUROGATE container terminal in Wilhelmshaven posted a double-digit percentage growth rate in quantities handled, amounting to 18.3%.
Chief Executive Officer, Frank Dreeke, stated, “We still don’t know how Britain will define its relationship with the European Union or how possible trade sanctions will affect us and the level of uncertainty they will cause. The global economic mood has darkened. Times remain challenging. But we’re confident we will navigate these challenges successfully with our intelligent strategy, excellent employees and great passion for logistics. For business year 2019, we expect the BLG Group to generate sales at an equal level to the previous year, increase EBIT in the range of 5 to 8% and correspondingly increase our EBIT margin.”
Source: BLG Logistics
