(Adds further details, CEO, analyst quotes)
July 21 (Reuters) – Swiss freight forwarder Kuehne+Nagel International reported a smaller-than-expected fall in second-quarter profit on Tuesday buoyed by increased air freight operations and said it would restore its dividend plans.
“We took the right measures early on and successfully managed Kuehne+Nagel under these difficult conditions,” CEO Detlef Trefzger said regarding cost savings which also helped.
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell 12.6% to 235 million Swiss francs ($250 million). It increased its air freight operations by 17%.
Kuehne+Nagel shares were up 2% in early trade.
“The gain of market share combined with the flexibility of the organisation and a strict cost management delivered more than a solid result,” analyst Christian Obst at Baader Helvea said in a note.
Zuercher Kantonalbank analysts said the result exceeded even the highest expectations.
The company will propose a dividend of 4.00 francs per share at an extraordinary general meeting on September 2, it said, after freezing its dividend plans in April.
$1 = 0.9392 Swiss francs
Reporting by Bartosz Dabrowski in Gdansk; editing by
Muralikumar Anantharaman and Jason Neely
