Kuehne+Nagel posted steady gains in the first half of 2025, navigating external headwinds with an 8% year-on-year rise in net turnover to CHF 12.5 billion. Earnings reached CHF 555 million, supported by strong volume growth—especially in the Air Logistics segment.
Foreign exchange pressures and a one-time charge weighed on Kuehne+Nagel's H1 2025 profits, with currency effects accounting for CHF 24 million in losses and a CHF 16 million expense booked in Contract Logistics during Q2. Sea Logistics, tied to U.S. dollar transactions, saw the sharpest impact, followed by Air and other business segments. Despite this, the company maintained its full-year outlook and now anticipates recurring EBIT between CHF 1.45 billion and CHF 1.65 billion.
"Our solid operational performance in the first half of 2025 once again demonstrated our resilience in a challenging market environment," said
Stefan Paul, CEO of Kuehne+Nagel International AG. "The push of our strategic sales initiatives is proving to be highly effective."
"In Sea Logistics, we increased volumes by 2%, and in Air Logistics by 7% – that's well above overall market growth. With these measures, we have laid the foundation to gain further market share, particularly in Sea and Air Logistics," Paul added.
[Source: Kuehne+Nagel]
Sea, air logistics rise
Kuehne+Nagel reported that net turnover in its Sea Logistics unit rose by 16% year-over-year in the first half of 2025, reaching CHF 4.7 billion. EBIT amounted to CHF 368 million, significantly impacted by negative foreign exchange effects. In the first half of 2025, container volume increased by 2% year-over-year to 2.1 million TEU.
It said that notably, the company also recorded "substantial market share gains" on the trade route from Asia to Europe.
Sea Logistics saw heightened volatility in Q2 2025 after "Liberation Day," as the U.S. dollar weakened and tariff-related uncertainty surged. While volumes to and from the U.S. dropped, Kuehne+Nagel managed to balance the shift by expanding activity across other trade lanes.
In its Air Logistics business unit, Kuehne+Nagel said net turnover increased by 8% year-on-year in the first half of 2025 to CHF 3.6 billion. EBIT increased at a faster pace, rising by 10% to CHF 230 million. In the first half of 2025, air freight volumes increased by 7% year-over-year to 1.1 million tonnes.
"The Air Logistics business unit achieved particularly strong growth in the segments of perishables, semiconductors, and cloud infrastructure (hyper scalers), a promising field that Kuehne+Nagel is actively pursuing," the freight forwarder added.
Net turnover in the business unit Road Logistics was CHF 1.8 billion in the first half of 2025, with EBIT of CHF 47 million. The road network remained underutilised due to subdued demand in European markets.
Kuehne+Nagel noted that with the acquisition of Spanish groupage logistics provider TDN, it further strengthened its presence on the Iberian Peninsula and significantly expanded regional coverage for customers. The transaction was completed at the end of the second quarter of 2025.
Meanwhile, in its Contract Logistics unit, net turnover reached CHF 2.4 billion in the first half of 2025, with EBIT at CHF 99 million — the result impacted by an extraordinary provision of CHF 16 million related to an ongoing cross-industry investigation in Italy. Operationally, the second quarter of 2025 was the strongest in the history of the business unit.
In June 2025, Contract Logistics also expanded its long-standing partnership with Louis Vuitton and opened a new distribution centre in Tokyo to serve the Japanese market.
"In the first half of 2025, Kuehne+Nagel once again delivered a strong operating performance in an environment marked by geopolitical uncertainty. Turnover growth clearly outpaced the market average, confirming the company's strategic direction. Kuehne+Nagel is well on track to further strengthen its market position," said Dr. Joerg Wolle, chairman of the Board of Directors of Kuehne+Nagel International AG.
