Logistics Company Kuehne and Nagel announce Growth accelerating momentum increasing in 2010

The Kuehne + Nagel Group’s volume development exceeded the market
average in all business units, with accelerated growth in the second
quarter. Compared with the previous year’s period, turnover increased
by 15.9 per cent to CHF 9,849 million. The operational result (EBITDA)
grew by 1.9 per cent to CHF 475 million while net earnings improved
by 8.9 per cent to CHF 281 million.

Kuehne + Nagel Group First half-year 2010 2009 CHF million

Turnover 9,849 8,498
Gross profit 2,961 2,929
Operational result (EBITDA) 475 466
EBT 358 337
Net earnings 281 258

"The entire logistics industry has capitalised on the economic recovery,
resulting in rising transport volumes and increased warehouse utilisation,"
said Reinhard Lange, CEO of Kuehne + Nagel International AG. "Thanks to
our highly dedicated workforce we were able to smoothly handle our
significantly increased volumes and considerably improve productivity levels.
Furthermore, in the still volatile, challenging market, we benefited from our
customer focus."

Seafreight

Following strong volume growth in the first quarter 2010, demand in the
global seafreight market accelerated in the second quarter, leading to
shortages in shipping capacity and containers resulting in significant rate
increases. With a volume growth of approximately 20 per cent in the first
six months of 2010, Kuehne + Nagel clearly outperformed the market and
returned to its pre-crisis growth dynamics. The Group gained market share
in all trade lanes, performing particularly well in the export business to
South and North America. Due to sharply increased freight rates, the
operational result of CHF 204 million remained at previous year’s level,
while the EBITDA margin declined from 5.5 to 4.7 per cent.
Airfreight

The international airfreight market experienced surprisingly high growth rates
in the first half of 2010. Across all regions and industries shippers turned to
this more cost-intensive transport mode to handle their orders as fast as
possible.

Kuehne + Nagel’s growth rate of 31 per cent marked a record high. Volumes
grew in all trade lanes, especially on the routes to and from Asia-Pacific.

The Group benefited from its market-oriented airfreight products and
proactive capacity management. EBITDA margin, which had been exceptionally high in the previous year’s period, normalised in the first halfyear of 2010 to 5.4 per cent. Process efficiency and productivity increases
led to a 7.1 per cent increase of the operational result.

Road & Rail Logistics

During the first half-year, the rapidly improving economy resulted in
considerable volume growth in the European overland transport market.
At the same time, providers were exposed to high pressure on prices and
fierce competition.

Kuehne + Nagel delivered encouraging overland business performance.
Expanding activity in groupage, and less-than- (LTL) and full-truckload (FTL)
services led to a 13.3 per cent increase (excluding currency impact) in net
turnover. Improved network utilisation as well as process standardisation and
optimisation contributed to an increase of 52.6 per cent in the operational
result. EBITDA margin improved from previous year’s 1.6 per cent to 2.1 per
cent.

Contract Logistics

In contract logistics, the favourable market environment supported improved
capacity utilisation and accelerated warehouse throughput. In particular
multinational companies showed great interest in providers offering global
competence and standardised services. The 4.7 per cent increase in net
turnover (excluding currency impact) reflected new business wins Kuehne +
Nagel concluded and implemented in the first half of 2010. Warehouse
utilisation was optimised, especially in North America. Due to start-up costs,
however, the operational result decreased by 8.0 per cent. EBITDA margin
was at 4.2 per cent (previous year: 4.6 per cent).

Outlook

Karl Gernandt, Executive Vice Chairman of Kuehne + Nagel International AG, said: "In the first half of 2010 the Kuehne + Nagel Group achieved its ambitious goal of gaining market share in all business units while
demonstrating strong profitability. As a result of the previous year’s
investments in sales and product development, Kuehne + Nagel overproportionally
benefited from the improvement in global trade. Due to this convincing start, we are optimistic about the further development of our business. However, continued credit risks in some southern European countries and the situation in international finance markets still require
great vigilance."