Divisions

Express: continued yield and cost management

Revenue in the Express division decreased by 1.4% to €12,226 million in the first half of 2024. This includes negative currency effects amounting to €90 million, as well as lower fuel surcharges. Excluding currency effects and fuel surcharges, first-half revenue slightly exceeded the prior-year figure with a rise of 0.2%. The ongoing sluggish market development caused per-day revenues and shipment volumes in the TDI product line to fall.

We continue to counter this trend by managing costs and optimizing network capacity. We are responding to persistent inflation with general price increases combined with effective yield management. In the first half of 2024, EBIT in the Express division decreased by 27.1% to €1,315 million. The EBIT margin was 10.8%. In the second quarter of 2024, EBIT was €683 million, 24.2% below the prior-year figure.

Global Forwarding, Freight: drop in revenue due to lower freight rates

Revenue in the Global Forwarding, Freight division decreased by 8.0% to €9,497 million in the first half of 2024 due to lower freight rates. Excluding negative currency effects of €60 million, revenue was down 7.4% on the prior-year level. In the second quarter of 2024, revenue slightly exceeded the prior-year figure with a rise of 0.8% thanks to higher volumes and increasing freight rates. Revenue in the Global Forwarding business unit decreased by 10.5% to €6,914 million in the first half of 2024. Without taking negative currency effects of €57 million into account, the decrease was 9.8%. Gross profit in the Global Forwarding business unit was down from the previous year by 13.6% to €1,707 million.

Air freight volumes rose by 5.2% in the first half of 2024, with growth primarily on trade lanes between Asia and Europe. Air freight revenues dropped by 7.1% and gross profit by 21.4%. In the second quarter of 2024, revenue was up 3.6% and gross profit down 16.9% on the prior-year level. Ocean freight volumes rose by 6.5% year on year in the first half, with growth particularly on trade lanes from Asia. First-half ocean freight revenue dropped by 14.5% and gross profit by 21.5%. The second quarter of 2024 saw corresponding declines of 1.4% and 15.9%, respectively.

Revenue in the Freight business unit decreased slightly in the first half of 2024 and was down 0.7% at €2,636 million. We saw a fall in volumes of 7.3%, which was partially compensated for by price effects. Gross profit in this business unit fell by 4.1% to €662 million. In the second quarter of 2024, revenue rose by 2.1%, while gross profit fell by 3.7%.

EBIT in the Global Forwarding, Freight division was down by 30.2% in the first half of 2024 to €542 million. The EBIT margin was 5.7%. EBIT in the division thus corresponds to 22.9% of gross profit and 28.3% for the Global Forwarding business unit. In the second quarter of 2024, EBIT in the division stood at €279 million.

Supply Chain: continued strong revenue and earnings trend in the first half

Revenue in the Supply Chain division grew by 4.1% to €8,685 million in the first half of 2024. Excluding positive currency effects of €2 million, the increase was also 4.1%. New business, contract renewals and expanding e-commerce business contributed to higher revenue in almost all regions and sectors. A slight drop in revenue in the Asia Pacific region was due to negative currency effects. In the second quarter of 2024, revenue in the Supply Chain division rose by 2.8% to €4,352 million. Excluding positive currency effects of €5 million, the increase was 2.7%.

In the first half of 2024, the Supply Chain division concluded additional contracts with a volume of €5.0 billion. Alongside the Energy, Retail, and Life Sciences & Healthcare sectors, e-fulfilment solutions accounted for an important part of this. The contract renewal rate remained at a consistently high level.

EBIT in the Supply Chain division rose by 7.2% to €535 million in the first half of 2024. The EBIT margin for the first half of the year was 6.2%. In the second quarter of 2024, EBIT in the Supply Chain division stood at €279 million.

eCommerce: revenue exceeds prior-year level

The eCommerce division generated revenue of €3,300 million in the first half of 2024, up 9.5% on the prior-year level. This includes a revenue contribution of €160 million from the acquisition of MNG Kargo. Excluding positive currency effects of €15 million, revenue was 9.0% up on the prior-year level. In the second quarter of 2024, revenue in the eCommerce division rose by 10.5% to €1,667 million.

EBIT in the eCommerce division fell from €159 million to €125 million in the first half of 2024. This was attributable mainly to higher costs, which resulted partly from increased depreciation, amortization and impairment losses due to continuous investment in the expansion of the networks. The EBIT margin for the first half of the year was 3.8%. EBIT in the eCommerce division stood at €67 million in the second quarter of 2024.

Post & Parcel Germany: ongoing growth in parcel business supports earnings performance

At €8,426 million, revenue in the Post & Parcel Germany division was up by 2.8% year on year in the first half of 2024. The Parcel Germany business unit continued to drive this positive development. As expected, German letter mail business declined, though the European elections, among other factors, somewhat slowed this trend. In the second quarter of 2024, revenue in the division rose by 4.1% to €4,160 million.

EBIT for the Post & Parcel Germany division in the first half of 2024 amounted to €324 million and was thus 24.1% higher than in the prior-year period, which was hit by additional staff costs due to strikes. Higher revenues in parcel business and goods shipping more than offset increased material costs and additional pressure from collective bargaining agreements. Return on sales in the first half of 2024 was 3.8%. At €130 million, second-quarter EBIT was 5.7% up on the prior-year quarter. This was due to revenue increases in parcel business and goods shipping as well as higher operating income. Higher material and staff costs, caused particularly by collective bargaining agreements, were slightly outweighed. The return on sales was 3.1%.