Panalpina increases focus on SME sector to recover lost sales
Panalpina today reported a significant improvement in transport volumes in the third quarter, compared to the previous quarter, but said the market remained “extremely difficult”.
Air freight volumes grew by 10% and ocean freight volumes by 13% quarter on quarter, but were still down by 25% and 18%, respectively, year-on-year.
The company said it had gained air freight market share on the transpacific trade lane and on its most important ocean freight trade lane, Asia-Europe.
Gross profit declined by 18.5% to SF1.06bn, “impacted by significantly higher freight rates that could not be fully passed on to customers”.
Ebitda decreased to SF73m, having been negatively impacted by year-to-date legal fees of SF44m related to ongoing investigations.
The company said that in order to better align itself with the difficult market environment, it had stepped up its sales efforts.
Measures include an increased focus on the SME segment, “in order to optimise the customer mix” and on extending its offerings in the field of global supply chain management.
Other measures included the design and implementation of a “trade lane management concept”; the appointment of a global head of sales reporting directly to the executive board; intensified sales training: and improved visibility and transparency were “anticipated to spur growth in the coming quarters”.
CEO Monika Ribar said: “As the numbers in the nine-month comparison show, the market environment remains extremely difficult.
“This is why we continue to intensify our sales efforts by optimising our customer mix and by expanding our offerings in global supply chain management.
“While there is no short-term solution for the current challenges, I am confident that these measures will pay off in due course”.
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