EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) was down 39% to 376 million Swiss francs (CHF) and turnover was down 18% to CHF5.5 billion.
The conversion rate, the ratio of EBIT to gross profit, was 18% in Q1 of 2024, down from 26% last year but above the pre-pandemic level of 12% registered in 2019.
In the Air Logistics division, Kuehne+Nagel says it is prioritising yields over volumes.
Net turnover for Air Logistics was down 15% to CHF1.58 billion and EBIT by 39% to CHF94 million.
The conversion rate was 24% compared to 32% in Q1 of 2023 and tonnage increased by 3.4% to 491,000 tons.
Kuehne+Nagel says it is working on maintaining its market share, continuing to focus on yield management, growing the volume of perishables and looking at ongoing cost reduction measures.
Stefan Paul, CEO of Kuehne+Nagel International says the company started the year with solid but lower year-over-year results.
He says, “Our focus on efficiency and streamlined structures allowed us to reduce costs per unit by 12% in Sea Logistics and 14% in Air Logistics. By discontinuing the regional structure, we have laid the foundations for further growth and enabled more direct access to our customers worldwide.”