Panalpina's net income rises 44pc to US$95m over first 3 quarters

Global forwarding and logistics services group Panalpina has announced that its net, Ebitda and Ebit earnings for the first nine months of the year have already reached the same level as its full-year results in 2005.For the January to September period, the Swiss firm's net earnings rose 44.2 per cent over the same period last year to CHF119.1 million (US$95.34 million). Ebitda increased by 42.5 per cent to CHF204.5 million, while Ebit was up 56.7 per cent year on year to CHF168.6 million. During the reporting period, gross revenue amounted to CHF6.77 billion, an increase of 14.5 per cent. Net forwarding revenue grew by 13.5 per cent over the comparable period a year ago to CHF5.63 billion, driven by top-line growth across the whole of Panalpina's network worldwide. Net forwarding revenue from airfreight went up 9.7 per cent, ocean freight rose by 18.1 per cent and supply chain management grew by 14.7 compared to the first nine months of 2005. In a statement, the company attributed its performance to favourable world market conditions, effective cost management, and substantial new business wins throughout all of the group's key industries, namely oil and gas, automotive, healthcare, retail and fashion, and the hi-tech sectors. Consequently, Panalpina said it would meet its targets for the full year 2006 results.