Danish freight forwarder DSV says it has posted a “very strong set of Q1 numbers” which brings it closer to its goal of reaching pre-UTi acquisition performance levels and margins.
The company released its interim report for the first quarter (Q1) of 2017, its first full Q1 since it acquired US freight forwarder UTi Worldwide in a $1.35 billion deal at the start of 2016.
The Air & Sea division saw earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) before special terms of DKK 690 million ($101 million) for Q1 under review, against DKK 414 million for the same period in 2016.
DSV says growth in the division is largely the result of the continued successful integration of UTi’s activities where synergies are being realised and in several countries it is seeing that profit per shipments and productivity are back at pre-UTi leaves.
In addition, several counties with limited DSV presence before the UTi acquisition have become important members of the global network and delivering good results, including South Africa, Mexico, Israel and India, which are now strong DSV country markets.
DSV handled 20 per cent more airfreight volumes in Q1 this year than Q1 last year at 147,429 tonnes compared with the 122,817 tonnes it handled in Q1 last year.
The company says in Q1, the market has been characterised by high activity levels, especially in airfreight and several trade lanes have been impacted by periodic lack of capacity and changes among carriers, leading to increasing freight rates and a challenging pricing environment.
Overall financial figures in Q1 for DSV were net revenue of DKK 18,223 million, up on the DKK 15,319 million in Q1 2016 and gross profit of DKK 4,220 million, up on the DKK 3,607 million.
DSV chief executive officer, Jens Bjørn Andersen says: “A very strong set of Q1 numbers brings us even closer to our goal of reaching pre-UTi performance levels and margins.
“All three divisions have recorded a significant increase in earnings in the quarter, which is very satisfactory. In addition to following our integration plans, we have increased our sales efforts in order to secure future market share gains.”
