Kuehne+Nagel (K+N) kicked off the year with a decline in airfreight revenues and profits despite a slight uplift in volumes.
The Switzerland-headquartered freight forwarder recorded a 9% year-on-year decline in first-quarter revenues to Sfr1.6bn, while earnings before interest and tax (ebit) was down 4.3% to Sfr111m.
Volumes, meanwhile, increased by 0.4% to 516,000 tonnes.
K+N said that the decline in revenues partially reflected foreign currency effects as the dollar weakened. On a like-for-like basis, revenues would have been flat on a year ago, while there would have been a 7% improvement in operating profits.
“Events in the Middle East led to a short-term tightening of airfreight capacity, resulting in increased demand for charter solutions,” the company said in a press release.
In an investor presentation, K+N said that stable airfreight unit profitability was supported by cost control and cargo mix.
While air volumes were up for the quarter, improvements slowed compared with the fourth quarter of last year when the company registered a 6.6% year-on-year increase, while for 2025 as a whole K+N’s airfreight volumes were up 7%.
K+N said the slowdown in volume growth in the first quarter of this year had been driven by a decline of lower-yielding volumes.
Meanwhile, higher-yielding business, such as semiconductors and cloud infrastructure, continued to drive demand.
Looking at demand levels for the rest of the year, the forwarder is expecting air volumes to grow at GDP levels at best, which the IMF is projecting to increase by 3.1% in 2026.
The overall company saw first-quarter revenues decline by 12% year on year to Sfr5.6bn, ebit was down 15% to Sfr343m and earnings slid 18% to Sfr248m.
The biggest declines were seen in the company’s seafreight business and were the result of the Middle East conflict.
However, K+N was positive about its performance and said its results had beaten expectations partly as a result of cost-cutting measures announced in October last year.
Stefan Paul, chief executive of K+N International, said: “Thanks to disciplined cost management, Kuehne+Nagel made a strong start to the year in Air, Road and Contract Logistics.
“Sea Logistics was affected short-term by disruptions in the Middle East. We are closely monitoring the situation, particularly with regard to rising energy prices and the possible impact on consumer demand.
“As the markets continue to be volatile, our access to a global network and close collaboration with customers enable us to respond swiftly and flexibly to fast-changing conditions.
“This strength, combined with the current market dynamics and our consistent cost management, gives us confidence for the second quarter of 2026.”
