SNCF Group has released its results for the second quarter of this year, with the group’s revenues up 13.7% year-on-year in the first half of 2021, increasing from €14.1bn in 2020 to €16.1bn in 2021. EBITDA was up by over 1,900%, increasing from €69m in the first half of last year to €1.4bn. Despite this, the group’s operating profit was still in the red, the size of the loss decreasing 82.6% to just €0.3bn down from €1.9bn. SNCF’s net profit also remained in the negative, the loss decreasing from €2.4bn in H1-20 to €0.8bn in H1-21.
All of SNCF’s logistics businesses experienced growth in revenue in the first half of 2021. Geodis, its freight forwarding and contract logistics arm, experienced a 21.4% year-on-year growth in revenue to €4.8bn in H1-21 up from €3.9bn. Both in the US and Italy, Contract Logistics reported strong growth resulting from increased demand in e-commerce, with revenue rising 23% year-on-year to €280m in the market. Within Freight Forwarding, activities improved due to rising air and sea freight prices. Revenue rose 31% on the previous year to €471m in the first half of this year. Additionally, for the first time, Geodis also chartered multiple sea vessels between Shanghai and Hamburg in order to meet the lack of capacity within the market. In France, Geodis’ Distribution & Express activities regained level of business comparable to before the pandemic as revenues rose 9% to €67m for the first half. Geodis’ EBITDA rose by €172m for the period, stemming from a €43m rise in EBITDA within Freight Forwarding, a €38m rise in EBITDA within Contract Logistics and a €63m rise in EBITDA from Distribution & Express.
Elsewhere, Rail Logistics Europe, its rail freight and intermodal logistics business, experienced a 13.1% growth in revenue to €745m for the first half of this year. Its other Freight & Logistics businesses also experienced growth of 7.4%, up to €228m in the first half of this year.
SNCF Group stated it sees the outlook for the second half of 2021 as broadly positive with solid business momentum for all segments and geographical areas it operates in, however, it noted that macroeconomic uncertainty remains high and could lead to problems, especially regarding the development of air and sea freight capabilities.
Source: SNCF Group
