Page 8 of 20 INTERIM FINANCIAL REPORT – COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT NO. 882 – 27 April 2021
Divisional revenue
The division’s revenue amounted to DKK 22,924 million for Q1
2021, compared to DKK 16,674 million for the same period last
year. The growth for the period was 45.5%, driven by the
significant increase in freight rates compared to Q1 2020.
All regions contributed to the strong growth in revenue, but, in
line with the market, the division saw the strongest growth in
APAC, driven by high export activity.
Gross profit
For Q1 2021, gross profit amounted to DKK 4,788 million,
compared to DKK 3,875 million for the same period last year,
which corresponds to a growth of 30.4%.
Compared to Q1 2020, the division achieved improved gross
profit per TEU of sea freight and per tonne of air freight. This
was partly due to the benefits from the integration of Panalpina,
where the combination of the two networks have provided scale
benefits. All shipments are now handled on one IT platform,
which improves transparency and productivity.
Similar to the trend in recent quarters, the gross profit per unit in
Q1 2021 was positively impacted by the extraordinary market
conditions following COVID-19 with tight capacity, low carrier
reliability and historically high rates. Providing capacity and
finding good logistics solutions for the customers require a
significant effort by our freight forwarders, and each shipment is
significantly more time consuming than normally. Scalable IT
systems and efficient workflows are important, but freight
forwarding is a people’s business, and the good financial
performance clearly reflects the skills and hard work by our
teams across the globe.
The division’s gross margin was 20.9% for Q1 2021, compared
to 23.2% last year. The decline was mainly due to the impact
from pass-through revenue where higher freight rates cause
lower gross margin.
EBIT before special items
EBIT before special items came to DKK 2,393 million for Q1
2021, compared to DKK 1,130 million for the same period last
year. This corresponds to a growth for the period of 126.0%.
The positive development was driven by the growth in gross
profit. Furthermore, the division benefitted from the full-year
impact of Panalpina synergies and the permanent COVID-19
cost savings.
All regions contributed to the strong growth in EBIT before
special items.
The conversion ratio was 50.0% for Q1 2021, compared to
29.2% for the same period last year, clearly reflecting the
improved productivity of the division but also impacted by the
extraordinary market conditions during the quarter and certain
temporary cost savings.
Net working capital
The Air & Sea division’s net working capital came to DKK 4,079
million on 31 March 2021, compared to DKK 3,518 million on 31
March 2020. The development was due to the increase in
revenue.
FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2020 - 2021