Q1 2026 Kuehne + Nagel International AG Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Recurring EBIT for Q1 2026 exceeded guidance, reaching CHF308 million, indicating strong financial performance.
- Successful cost management efforts led to significant cost reductions, running ahead of plan and contributing to improved profitability.
- Free cash flow generation in Q1 exceeded the previous year, supported by disposal proceeds from a real estate sale.
- Sea Logistics unit profitability recovered significantly due to cost control measures, with a 13% increase in EBIT per TEU quarter-on-quarter.
- Air Logistics maintained stable unit profitability through strong cost control and favorable mix shifts, with EBIT rising by 7% year-over-year.
- Group EBIT declined by 17% year-over-year, and recurring group EPS declined by 18%, impacted by negative currency effects.
- Sea Logistics volumes declined by 2% year-over-year, mainly due to geopolitical events in the Middle East.
- Air Logistics volumes were flat year-over-year, with a notable decline in perishables and e-commerce segments.
- The company faced a 7% foreign exchange headwind at both EBIT and net earnings levels.
- Working capital intensity increased to 6%, with net working capital rising by 9% over the past quarter.
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Good afternoon and welcome to the presentation of Kuehne + Nagel first-quarter 2026 financial results. I'm CEO, Stefan Paul; and I'm joined today, as always, by our CFO, Markus Blanka-Graff. Page number 2, first-quarter 2026 results, recurring EBIT exceeded our guidance. The recurring EBIT of CHF308 million in Q1 exceeded the guidance we communicated with Q4 results. That is a result that would broadly match the CHF285 million we achieved in Q3.
We attribute most of the upside to first signs of visible cost reduction with phasing running ahead of plan. We had announced this cost reduction program in Q3 and and booked provisions, as you all know, for it in Q4. We still expect to achieve at least CHF200 million of annualized gross savings by year-end 2026.
At the close of the first quarter, we are running ahead of plan and confident in our ability to reach our target. Our successful cost management in Q1 mitigated some of the effects of volume
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