Kuehne + Nagel (KN) was unable to escape the global transport recession in the first quarter, as net earnings fell by 16.9% year-on-year to SFr128m (US$110m).
The Swiss logistics giant, which announced last month that it intended to cut its costs by 510%, saw group turnover fall from SFr5.3bn in the first quarter of 2008 to SFr4.2bn 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 its 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 KN statement.
The company claimed, however, that after a poor start to the year, its market share in sea freight logistics had risen during March, restricting volume contraction to a "less than market average" 13%.
Reinhard Lange, CEO of KN, said: "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."
"Since it remains impossible to predict when the global economy will recover, we will adhere to our dual strategy of rigorous cost control and a commitment to market share expansion."
