Kuehne + Nagel (KN) proved unable to escape the global transport recession in the first quarter as net earnings fell by 16.9% year-on-year to SFr 128m (US$109m).
The Swiss logistics giant, which announced in March it would cut costs by some 5-10%, saw group turnover fall from SFr5.3bn in the first quarter of 2008 to SFr4.3bn in the first three months of 2009.
Ebitda fell from SFr201m to SFr168m in the period.
The company reported lower volumes in all markets but claimed an "effective cost-cutting programme and increased sales activities"had restricted the damage.
Road and rail logistics was hit hardest, with volumes down 20% year-on-year in KN's core German groupage market. KN's air freight business also contracted sharply, with shipment volumes down by some 17.9% in the quarter.
Strong margin pressure, high fixed costs and insufficient warehouse utilisation in the contract logistics sector had been countered by "stringent cost management and workforce reductions," said a statement.
The company claimed, however, that its market share in sea freight logistics rose during March, restricting volume contraction to a "less than market average"13% after a poor start to the year.
"The solid performance in the first quarter confirms the efficiency of the measures we have taken at an early stage and implemented on a worldwide scale to adapt our enterprise to today's economic environment," said Reinhard Lange, CEO of Kuehne + Nagel. "Since it remains impossible to predict by when the global economy will recover, we will adhere to our dual strategy of rigorous cost control with a commitment to market share expansion."
