Measured in EBIT, airfreight profits were up 160% to 425 million Swiss francs ($443m), with acquisitions being responsible for CHF130m of the growth.
Turnover increased by 84% to CHF3.3bn and gross profits were up 103% to CHF817m.
Airfreight volumes grew by 33% to 574,000 tonnes, of which 30% came from acquisitions.
The company says that the sudden closure of Russian airspace led to disruption on routes between Europe and Asia, and combined with limited capacity, this significantly increased operational workloads.
To secure capacity, Kuehne + Nagel has reached a long-term agreement with Atlas Air for 2 Boeing 747-8Fs, chartered on an exclusive basis when they join the fleet in the third quarter.
Dr Detlef Trefzger, CEO of Kuehne + Nagel International says: “Strong demand for capital and consumer goods continued in the first quarter of 2022. In parallel, the already strained supply chain situation deteriorated further. Kuehne + Nagel was well prepared for this scenario and we were able to reliably meet customer demands for high-quality logistics services.”