Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific and Dragonair logged solid growth in September, carrying 147,307 tonnes of cargo and mail for an increase in volume of 14.5 percent compared to September 2013, according to the latest traffic figures released by Cathay Pacific Airways.
The two airlines’ cargo and mail load factor rose by 2.9 percentage points to 62.2 percent. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometers, rose by 10.8 percent, while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometers (RTKs) flown were up by 16.3 percent.
For the year to the end of September, tonnage rose by 11.7 percent, while capacity was up 11.3 percent and RTKs increased by 14.5 percent.
“Demand out of Hong Kong and the key manufacturing regions in Mainland China and Southeast Asia continued to be strong in September, with traffic spurred by the launch of new consumer IT products in the market,” said Mark Sutch, Cathay Pacific general manager of cargo sales and marketing.
“Demand on the North American lanes remained strong and the Americas will remain the key focus of our cargo business as we move deeper into the peak season for airfreight. Demand to and from Europe continued to fall short of expectations.”
K+N tonnage rises
Meanwhile, Kuehne + Nagel (K+N) increased airfreight tonnage by 5 percent, representing 40,000 tons, in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period a year ago, as it noted a stable international market during the period.
Overall the logistics company recorded an improvement in earnings of 8.6 percent in the first nine months of 2014 to CHF480 million (US$509.2 million) compared to the previous year’s period. EBIT increased by 8.2 percent to CHF607 million, and the operational result (EBITDA) by 4.6 percent to CHF743 million. Net turnover of CHF13 billion was slightly above the previous year’s level.
Increased volumes in the European export business and strong growth in the automotive, pharmaceutical, and aviation industries contributed to keep momentum high. Compared to the previous year’s period, EBIT-to-gross profit margin improved from 25.1 to 27.5 percent. The operational result increased by 5.9 percent.
For sea freight, the forwarder handled 2.9 million TEUs, an additional 211,000 TEUs more than in the same period of 2013 despite what it described as a difficult market environment. Gross profit increased by 4.1 percent and the operational result by 2.4 percent.
Regarding its trucking business, net turnover grew by 3.2 percent in the first nine months and the operational result improved from CHF22 million to CHF47 million. EBIT increased by CHF27 million compared to the previous year’s period.
In contract logistics, the focus on complex and scalable solutions as well as end-to-end solutions generated new and profitable projects for key accounts, the company said. In the first nine months EBIT improved by 8.1 percent compared to the previous year. Net turnover increased by 5.4 percent.
Lufthansa down but still quite upbeat
On the other hand, Lufthansa Cargo’s freight and mail throughput in the first nine months of the year showed a year-on-year decline of 3.2 percent as the company encountered “a challenging market environment in the third quarter.”
Although the economic result for the first nine months of 2014 will still be announced on October 30, “Lufthansa Cargo remains on track despite a challenging market environment,” said the freight airline’s chairman and CEO Peter Gerber.
In his forecast for the fourth quarter Gerber was cautiously optimistic, saying he expects a seasonal upturn in demand for the Christmas season.
Photo: Alfvanbeem
