JOC Staff | Nov 02, 2012 11:47AM EDT
Panalpina Group reported net profit of 4.1 million Swiss francs (approximately US$4.4 million) for the third quarter of 2012, compared with 31.7 million Swiss francs (approximately US$33.7 million) in the same quarter a year ago, as weak performance in air freight offset improvements in the logistics and ocean freight segments.
“There was light and shadow in the third quarter of 2012,” CEO Monika Ribar said in a written statement. “On the one hand, ocean freight continued with historic record volumes and our investments into logistics have clearly started to pay off as more and more customers entrust us with value-added logistics services. On the other hand, our performance in air freight was disappointing.”
Net forwarding revenue increased 10 percent to about US$1.8 billion, with strong performance in the Americas (North America and Latin America), but a weaker showing in the Asia-Pacific region, as exports to Europe declined.
Ocean freight gains brought the highest quarterly and year-to-date volumes ever, as for the first time Panalpina forwarded more than 1 million 20-foot-equivalent units) in the first nine months of the year. Volumes in the third quarter were up by 5 percent. Likewise, the company saw strong growth in gross profit in its logistics division. These improvements were offset by an 8 percent decline in air cargo volume, particularly in Europe-related trade lanes.