CEVA air freight volume growth ascends to 15.6% in Q2


CEVA has reported second quarter revenues of $1,721m, up 6.4% in constant currency, and up 3.3% in actual currency. This represented a further acceleration over growth in previous quarters. For the first half, revenues were $3,317m up 5.8% in constant currency and up 2.6% in actual currency terms.

As for profitability, adjusted EBITDA in Q2 came in at $70m, up $9m in constant currency versus the prior year. In H1, adjusted EBITDA came in at $124m, up $11m in constant currency versus the prior year.

CEVA asserted that: “The improvement in profits was driven by growth and cost savings achieved from the Excellence Program which more than offset margin pressures in Air & Ocean. Continuing cost reductions will support profits in the coming quarters.”

In Freight Management, CEVA reported revenue growth of 8.8% year-on-year in constant currency terms. Growth was driven by rapid air freight volume growth, especially on transpacific and intra-Asia trade lanes. Overall, air freight tonnage managed increased by 15.6% year-on-year. Ocean freight volume growth was a more modest 3.5%, driven by volumes out of Asia and from Europe to Middle East.

On market conditions, CEVA stated: “Although the market situation remains difficult in view of rising carrier rates, yields were maintained at relatively good levels. Productivity improvements through the implementation of our Excellence Program led to reductions in direct operating expenses per file, which mitigated the impact of the rate environment.”

Freight management EBITDA in Q2 was $20m, up $2m in constant currency.

In the Contract Logistics division, new business wins, particularly in automotive, consumer & retail and e-commerce, secured continued top-line growth. Revenue was up 4.5% in constant currency.

Contract Logistics EBITDA was $39m in Q2, up $6m year-on-year in constant currency. According to CEVA: “Positive results driven from our Excellence Program together with improvements on selected contracts lead to a strengthening of margins by 50 bps.”

“Our Q2 is a further improvement on Q1, delivering revenue, profitability and cash flow improvements despite market headwinds. Our underlying trading was even stronger,” said Xavier Urbain, CEO of CEVA. “The Excellence Program, with a relentless focus on impeccable execution and productivity is demonstrating a strong momentum and we shall see more impact in the coming quarters. We have made much progress in terms of cost reductions and cash flow and we keep winning new business. In view of these improvements, we confirm our expectation for robust results in 2017 in EBITDA and cash flow.”

Source: CEVA