Freight forwarder Kuehne+Nagel posts fall in second-quarter operating profit

(Reuters) -Swiss logistics group Kuehne und Nagel reported a 15% drop in its second-quarter operating profit on Thursday, citing significant negative foreign exchange impacts in its Sea Logistics division.

Its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell to 342 million Swiss francs ($431.76 million) in the three months ended June 30, missing analysts' median forecast of 363 million Swiss francs.

On a currency-adjusted basis, EBIT declined by 9%.

The company attributed the miss to an extraordinary provision of CHF 16 million related to an ongoing tax fraud investigation in Italy.

The freight forwarder, which operates in more than a 100 countries, said its underlying earnings outlook and expectations for 2025 remain unchanged.

However, due to persistent currency headwinds, Kuehne + Nagel has lowered its recurring EBIT forecast to the range of CHF 1.45 billion-CHF 1.65 billion from CHF 1.50 billion-CHF 1.75 billion.

Analysts are expecting a median operating profit of 1.53 billion francs for 2025, a company-provided poll showed.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, logistics firms have weathered a series of disruptions from port congestion and labor strikes to geopolitical tensions and attacks on key shipping routes.

More recently, the sector has been hit by a new wave of uncertainty stemming from U.S. tariff hikes and retaliatory measures by trade partners. These developments have reignited volatility across global supply chains and weighed heavily on demand visibility.

Kuehne + Nagel has not been spared. The company's shares hit their lowest level since August 2020 in early April following the announcement of new U.S. tariffs.

The stock, which is under pressure after issuing subdued EBIT guidance for 2025, has been underperforming the logistic sector over the last six months with declines of 15%.

($1 = 0.7921 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Anastasiia Kozlova and Simon Ferdinand Eibach in Gdansk; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)