Kuehne + Nagel’s start to the 2022 business year was marked by a continued strong demand for high-quality transport services. The Group was able to improve all key figures compared to the same period last year: Net turnover increased by 68% to CHF 10.2bn, EBIT by 160% to CHF 1.1bn, earnings by 162% to CHF 832m and free cash flow by almost CHF 1bn. The Group’s conversion rate, which reflects EBIT as a percentage of the Group’s gross profit, reached 38.1%.
In response to the war in Ukraine, Kuehne + Nagel pledged emergency aid of CHF 10m, available on short notice, in the form of relief goods and free transport services.
The ongoing congestion at many international seaports continued to characterise the first quarter of 2022. The tense market environment once again led to an exceptionally high operational workload in Sea Logistics. Sea freight turnover was CHF 4.86bn, up 103.97% on Q1 2021, helping profits reach CHF 947m. Container volumes in the first quarter of 2022 were 1m TEU. Since January, Kuehne + Nagel has been measuring the congestion at port hotspots around the world with the “Disruption Indicator”. This reflects the waiting times of container ships in the eleven most important international port clusters on a daily basis. The Indicator is integrated into Sea Explorer, Kuehne + Nagel’s industry-recognised, real-time digital sea freight visibility tool.
The sudden closure of Russian airspace led to multiple changes in air freight routes between Asia and Europe. Together with the overall limited capacities, this led to a higher operational workload in the Q1 2022. Air freight volumes in Q1 were 574,000 tonnes, a net turnover of CHF 3.1bn, up 91% on Q1 2021, and had an air freight EBIT of CHF 425m. The conversion rate reached 52%. To secure capacity for strategic customers, Kuehne + Nagel concluded a long-term agreement with Atlas Air for two Boeing 747-8 freighters. The two aircraft will be chartered on an exclusive basis and will be deployed on international routes from the third quarter of 2022.
The business unit Road Logistics was able to increase volumes in Q1 of 2022, which resulted in a well-utilised network. In the first quarter of 2022, net turnover of the business unit improved by 13% year-on-year to CHF 982m and EBIT by 25% to CHF 30m. In March, the business unit formed a partnership for more transparency in supply chains. As part of the Chorus research project, which belongs to Google parent Alphabet, sensor and orchestration technologies are being developed to locate and track goods.
The Contract Logistics business unit recorded strong volumes in the first quarter and expanded its range of services for healthcare and e-commerce fulfilment. The business unit’s net turnover of CHF 1.2bn was 5% higher than in the same period last year, and EBIT increased by 16% to CHF 44m. In the first quarter, Contract Logistics commissioned several highly automated facilities, one example being consumer goods. In addition, the European healthcare warehouse capacities in Belgium were expanded by around 40%.
Source: Kuehne + Nagel
