In March 2008, the LOGISTICS Division was restructured and split between two board departments. The new structure is reflected in the segment reporting. The LOGISTICS Division was dissolved and replaced by the new FORWARDING/FREIGHT Division and the new SUPPLY CHAIN/CIS Division. The prior-year figures were restated accordingly. The business units of the FORWARDING/FREIGHT Division are still called DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Freight.
Overall the growth and performance of our FORWARDING/FREIGHT business developed favourably in the first half of 2008. Revenue grew by 8.3% to €6,767 million (previous year: €6,246 million). This figure includes negative currency effects of more than €300 million. Organically, our revenue grew by 13.3%.
The DHL Global Forwarding business generated revenue of €4,941 million (previous year: €4,468 million) in the first half of the year. Thus, revenue grew by 10.6% year-on-year despite negative currency effects. Organic revenue growth was 17.3%. Gross profit in the business unit totalled €1,065 million. Profit from operating activities (EBIT) improved favourably thanks to reduced overhead costs.
The volume of air freight transported increased by around 6% in the first half of the year. In contrast, the market grew by around 3%. Due to higher fuel surcharges, revenue for the first half of 2008 rose by 9.4% despite negative currency effects and lower freight rates. In the second quarter, the revenue increase expanded to 13.5%. Our business was particularly robust in the Middle East and Africa.
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DHL Global Forwarding: revenue by segment |
| |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
€m |
H1 |
Q2 | ||||||||||
|
|
2007 |
2008 |
+/– % |
2007 |
2008 |
+/– % | ||||||
|
Air freight |
2,341 |
2,560 |
9.4 |
1,181 |
1,341 |
13.5 | ||||||
|
Ocean freight |
1,400 |
1,594 |
13.9 |
715 |
836 |
16.9 | ||||||
|
Other |
727 |
787 |
8.3 |
378 |
408 |
7.9 | ||||||
|
Total |
4,468 |
4,941 |
10.6 |
2,274 |
2,585 |
13.7 | ||||||
|
DHL Global Forwarding: volumes |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
thousands |
|
H1 |
Q2 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
2007 |
2008 |
+/– % |
2007 |
2008 |
+/– % | ||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
|
Air freight |
Tonnage |
2,069 |
2,192 |
5.9 |
1,067 |
1,124 |
5.3 | ||||||||
|
Ocean freight |
TEUs1) |
1,205 |
1,333 |
10.6 |
629 |
694 |
10.3 | ||||||||
Ocean freight volumes increased by 10.6% in the first half of 2008. Here also, we outperformed the market, which grew by 7% to 8%. Our revenue growth for the first half of the year amounted to 13.9%, yet in the second quarter, revenue rose by 16.9%. Revenues increased above all in Europe, in the Middle East and in Africa.
In the first half of 2008, the DHL Freight business reported revenue of €1,885 million (previous year: €1,822 million). The business showed organic revenue growth of 4.2% with good performances in the Benelux countries, Eastern Europe and Germany, mainly coming from price increases. Gross profit reached €488 million, surpassing the prior-year figure. EBIT was reduced, partially due to currency effects.
Profit from operating activities (EBIT) of the FORWARDING/FREIGHT Division was €194 million in the period under review (previous year: €151 million). Adjusted for negative currency effects of €15 million, the business performed very well with growth of 38% in EBIT. Return on sales rose from 2.4% to 2.9%.
Operating cash flow in the first half of the year was €295 million.