News

Swiss logistics giant Kuehne + Nagel has seen its pre-tax profit rocket by over 50% in its latest accounts, released yesterday.

The firm made CHF855m (£356m) in 2006, up 52.3% on 2005’s figure of CHF561m (£233.7m). Turnover was also substantially up rising by 30% to CHF18.2bn  (£7.6bn) in 2006, up from CHF14bn (£5.8bn) in 2005.

Klaus Herms, chief executive officer, says: “The group again proved its strength in 2006; this was impressively underpinned by all key performance indicators. With our global logistics expertise and our strategy of increasing customer value through integrated solutions, we were successful in meeting market requirements worldwide.”

In the UK, where the firm is the third-placed logistics provider, it continued the integration of ACR Logistics which managed some £80m worth of contract renewals and secured £140m of new business.

It also launched a new venture – K+N Drinks Logistics (KNDL) – for the beer distribution industry. Initially  formed for Scottish & Newcastle, the firm has since won another £15m of business including with US brewer Anheuser Busch.

KNDL is currently in negotiations with a number of UK regional brewers to take on their distribution operations.