Weak freight volumes weigh on Kuehne+Nagel's earnings

By Anastasiia Kozlova

(Reuters) -Kuehne und Nagel reported a 31% jump in its fourth quarter operating profit on Tuesday, but missed market expectations as its business volumes lagged the broader logistics market.

The Swiss freight forwarder, which operates in more than 100 countries, recorded a quarterly volume decline of 1% in its sea logistics business, while air logistics saw a 5% rise from a year earlier.

Volumes at both businesses were below the levels indicated by the broader market data, Bernstein analysts said in a note to clients.

"We have been waiting for the quarter when Kuehne+Nagel catches back up with its large peers, and we are still waiting, as evidenced by still-soft volume numbers vs DSV in Q4," they added.

K+N reported earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 421 million Swiss francs ($470 million) for the fourth quarter of 2024, missing analysts' median estimate of 430 million francs in a company-provided poll.

The company's shares have underperformed the wider logistic sector over the past year, falling nearly 17% as of Monday's close. They dropped another 6% in early trade on Tuesday.

"We continue to see the backdrop as challenging for EBIT growth in 2025 and 2026 and remain cautious," JPMorgan analysts wrote.

Logistics companies are likely to face slower profit growth in 2025 due to yields' normalization, softer demand and fading supply chain disruptions, Parash Jain, HSBC's global head of transport and logistics research, said ahead of the results.

With growth in global container trade and air freight tonnes expected to halve in 2025, Jain was expecting logistic firms, and particularly K+N, to address their cost control measures.

The company said it would provide a financial outlook for 2025 at its Capital Markets Day event on March 25. It did not mention possible cost measures in the press release.

($1 = 0.8956 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Anastasiia Kozlova in Gdansk, additional reporting by Amir Orusov; Editing by Milla Nissi)