Kuehne + Nagel (K+N) has released its full-year results for 2019.
The Group overall saw its net turnover increase by 1.5% to CHF21.1bn in 2019. The business grew its gross profit by 3.5% from CHF7.7bn in 2018 to CHF8bn in 2019.
Meanwhile, earnings before interest and tax (ebit) increased by 7.5% to CHF1.1 bn, exceeding the 1bn CHF mark for the first time.
However, the drop in demand for airfreight last year, particularly in key European countries, negatively impacted K+N’s airfreight turnover, which declined by 4.5%, from CHF4.9bn in 2018 to down to CHF4.7 bn in 2019.
K+N’s airfreight volumes decreased by 5.7% year on year to 1.6 m tonnes.
K+N revealed that gross profit increased in its airfreight division last year – by 9.6% year on year to CHF1.3bn. Ebit however decreased by 7.3% to SFr329m.
Detlef Trefzger, chief executive of K+N, commented: “In a changing market, we continued to see our strategy yield success.
“We managed to keep results stable in the more volatile airfreight business.”
