July 23 - Panalpina has reported revenues of CHF2.94 billion (USD3.08 billion) in the first six months of 2015 - down 8.9 percent over the same period of 2014 from CHF 3.23 billion (USD3.38 billion).
The Switzerland headquartered forwarder's gross profit also fell from CHF777.9 million (USD815.04 million) to CHF736.1 million (USD771.25 million) - a decrease of 5 percent, although the company's overall profitability remained relatively stable.
EBITA for the first six months of 2015 remained stood at CHF86.6 million (USD90.73 million) - down from CHF88.7 million (USD92.94 million); consolidated profit was up from CHF44 million (USD46.1 million) in 2014 to CHF45.3 million (USD47.46 million) - a modest rise of 2.95 percent.
"We succeeded in keeping profitability stable in the first six months of the year despite a soft air and ocean freight market. We are doing an increasingly better job of getting our costs under control. Currency adjusted, profitability was higher than last year," says Panalpina's ceo Peter Ulber.
Ulber added that during the first six months of 2015, ocean freight volumes grew in line with the market but airfreight cargoes slipped due to challenges in the energy sector.
"Our main focus remains on cost control and improving productivity," explained Ulber. "Despite the headwind in the energy sector, we are confident that we can recover lost ground in airfreight during the second half of the year. Our pipeline looks promising."
