A resilient Panalpina sails smoothly through 2015

by Payload Asia

The Panalpina Group reported a slight increase in EBIT and consolidated profit in what it described as a very challenging environment. Posting a rise of 15 per cent in EBIT to CHF 134.2 million (US$134.6 million) at constant currency and consolidated profit up 16.3 per cent to CHF 100.6 million (constant currency) in 2015 year-on-year. While volumes in Air Freight and Ocean Freight dropped slightly below previous year levels, Logistics achieved the first positive EBIT result for the full year.

“We have maintained profitability in a year that was characterised by a soft market, the low oil price, negative currency impacts and high IT investments on our end,” says Panalpina CEO Peter Ulber. “The results prove our resilience in more difficult times. Excluding currency effects, EBIT even increased by 15 per cent.”

Air Freight
Panalpina’s Air Freight volumes decreased 2.5 per cent in 2015 to 836,200 tonnes of air cargo, in a market that contracted by an estimated 1.0 per cent. This was related to lower volumes from customers in the oil and gas and automotive industries which shipped less cargo, the company said.

Gross profit per tonne decreased 5.8 per cent to CHF 699 leading to a drop in Air Freight gross profit of CHF 584.1 million (2014: CHF 636.3 million). On an operating profit level, Air Freight achieved an EBIT of CHF 88.5 million, compared to CHF 112.0 million the year before.

Logistics
Gross profit of the group’s Logistics product decreased 10.7 per cent to CHF 409.3 million in 2015 (2014: CHF 458.2 million). However, by parting from more loss-making facilities, Logistics achieved its first positive EBIT of CHF 2.1 million for the full year, compared to an EBIT loss of CHF 8.2 million last year.

Last year, Panalpina expanded its Logistics Manufacturing Services, acquired its Egyptian agent Afifi and opened new offices in Morocco, Kenya and Myanmar. In addition, Panalpina acquired Airflo, Kenya’s second largest air freight forwarder, specialising in the world-wide export of perishables.

“With a good number of initiatives already launched and new ones to come, we are aiming to outgrow the air and ocean freight markets in 2016,” said Ulber. Panalpina expects the air freight market to grow between 1-2 per cent and the ocean freight market to grow by 2.0 per cent in 2016.