Kuehne and Nagel crates

Switzerland-based logistics group Kuehne & Nagel (K&N) has announced that the consistent implementation of its growth strategy and a favourable economic environment helped push the group to a record operational result of €202.1m through the third quarter of 2010.

For the nine-month January to September period, turnover increased 18.6 per cent to €11.3bn, with earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumping from €517.5m to €556m.

In the seafreight segment, K&N maintained high-level container volumes with a 17 per cent increase, as the EBITDA-to-gross profit margin grew from 32.5 per cent in 2009 to 35.8 per for the first nine months of this year.

Airfreight tonnage climbed 29 per cent year-on-year for the January-September period, the group revealed, with rail and road logistics registering a growth in net turnover of 9.5 per cent.

'Due to the very good results of the past nine months – and particularly in the third quarter of 2010 – we are confident we will achieve a strongly improved result for the full year,' said K&N chief executive Reinhard Lange. 'We will concentrate our efforts on the consistent implementation of our growth strategy, thus further strengthening Kuehne & Nagel's position in the global logistics market.'