Freight forwarding and logistics service provider Damco has reported a 6 per cent increase in net revenue for the first quarter (Q1) of the year, up to US$773m (€599m) from US$728m last year.
Earnings before interest and taxation came to US$9m (€7m) for the period, compared with US$13m recorded in 2012.
Airfreight volumes showed 'rapid growth' of 15 per cent, Damco noted, a figure ahead of the market and enhanced by the acquisition of Pacific Network Global Logistics (PacNet) in the final quarter of 2012.
Ocean freight volumes were up only slightly compared to the same period last year, at a modest growth rate of 1 per cent.
Meanwhile, Supply Chain Management volume growth accelerated further in the first quarter with 10 per cent growth versus the same period last year, mainly driven by the impact of new customers and a strong pre-Chinese New Year uptake in volumes.
“Overall our performance in Q1 has been satisfactory, with solid growth in most products and underlying trading only slightly below 2012,' said Rolf Habben-Jansen, CEO of Damco. 'In Q1 we made significant investments to adjust our business model – in light of the changing market – to make it more scalable and to enable further growth and profit improvement in the years to come. We will continue to make investments in the upcoming quarters, even if that will impact our reported results.
“In 2013 we will be taking some important steps forward in simplifying our business and further raising the efficiency of our operations,' he added. 'We are also planning to invest in growing our geographical footprint as we would like to be there where our customers need us to be in the future, which will mean expanding our network from around 350 to 600 offices over the next three years.”
