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Rabu, 14 April 2021 15:46:00

Customer Confidence Strengthened: Dachser Is Satisfied with the Year's Results

Virtually no dip in company revenue in 2020, the year blighted by Covid-19, with the strong second half offsetting the impact of the European lockdowns in April and May. Investments of EUR 190 million earmarked for logistics capacity, technical equipment, and digital systems.

KEMPTEN, GERMANY / HONG KONG SAR  - 14 April 2021 -Logistics service provider Dachser can look back on a successful 2020, which was characterized by the loyalty and climate of mutual trust between the logistics provider, its customers, and its transport partners. Dachser's consolidated net revenue totaled EUR 5.61 billion, a slight decrease of 0.9 percent compared to the previous year.

"We have delivered on our promise to be a rock of stability during the coronavirus crisis," says Dachser CEO Burkhard Eling. "The enormous encouragement of our customers and partners has been a great source of motivation. Special thanks are due to our staff and all those who drive on behalf of Dachser, who made last year such a success. Despite the extra burdens imposed by Covid-19, their performance was remarkable and they shouldered the responsibility that comes with systemic relevance at all times."

Dachser kept its customers' global supply chains running without interruption and came up with flexible solutions to capacity bottlenecks, particularly on intercontinental freight services. At the same time, the company provided the best possible protection for its employees' health and supported its longstanding service partners in Europe.

In contrast to the decline of 2.2 percent in the Road Logistics business field, theAir & Sea Logistics business field saw growth of 5.2 percent. The business field benefited from having air freight charter capacity of its own as well as from high freight rates for intercontinental transport. At the Group level, the number of shipments dropped by 2.5 percent to 78.6 million, while tonnage fell by 2.9 percent to 39.8 million metric tons.

"Following a solid first quarter, the lockdowns in many European countries meant sometimes drastic declines in overland transport shipments," says Dachser CEO Eling. "There was a clear improvement by June, however, with volumes remaining more or less consistently above 2019 levels. Our business model has proved that it can withstand crises, at the same time boasting strong growth potential and adaptability," Eling is delighted to report.

Business development in detail

Revenue at the Air & Sea Logistics business field benefited from the shortages in air and sea freight capacity, and the corresponding rise in freight rates, throughout 2020. Buoyed by its activities in Asia, the business field upped its revenue by 5.2 percent to a total of EUR 1.2 billion. "We responded swiftly to the bottlenecks in air freight capacity by chartering aircraft to expand our own capacity, initially for medical supplies, later also transporting other goods for our customers. Overall, we operated around 150 charter flights between Europe, Asia, and the US during 2020," Eling says.

The sea freight situation was no better, with scarce capacity and the acute lack of empty containers resulting in a volatile market and soaring freight rates. The LCL routes, known as "ocean groupage," benefited in particular from this development. "Given the great potential we see for this premium service, we aim to further enhance the frequency, capacity, and quality of our LCL routes and push ahead with connecting them seamlessly to our European groupage network," Eling says.

Dachser's Road Logistics business field-comprising the transport and warehousing of industrial and consumer goods (European Logistics) and food (Food Logistics)-once again lost none of its growth momentum in 2020. However, even by the end of the year, it was impossible to fully compensate for lockdown-driven reductions in European volume in April and May, with the European Logistics business units in France and on the Iberian Peninsula the hardest hit. This caused the consolidated net revenue of the Road Logistics business field to drop by 2.2 percent to approximately EUR 4.5 billion.

While the European Logistics business line saw a decline of 3.2 percent to EUR 3.52 billion, Dachser Food Logistics upped its revenue to EUR 982 million, an increase of 1.9 percent. This business line faced a relatively turbulent 2020, marked on the one hand by panic buying in supermarkets and on the other by repeated closures in the catering, hospitality, and events industries in Germany. Nonetheless, it managed to make up for the decline in shipments in these sectors by acquiring new accounts and obtaining larger volumes of business from food retailers. Over the course of the year, Dachser Food Logistics increased the tonnage transported by 1.6 percent. (*)