Kuehne and Nagel looks to expansion

AT Kuehne and Nagel’s (KN) review of 2009, Klaus-Michael Kuehne, chairman of the board of directors, said he was pleased at how the group coped with the difficult global economic environment.

“We have decided to continue our dual strategy of process optimisation and stringent cost management on one hand, and extending market shares by specific growth initiatives on the other,” he said.

He added that the company would extend its activities in growth markets, such as China, India, Vietnam and in various countries in South America and the Middle East.

Combined with heavy-duty cost management, the company is predicting its airfreight segment will grow 12 per cent in 2010. This is after posting a 13.2 per cent drop in pre-tax revenue, to SFr885 million (US$819 million), for 2009 compared to 2008. The figure takes into account the SFr35 million ($32 million) fine allocated for anti-competitive airfreight price fixing.