Deutsche Post DHL posts 20% top-line gain in Q3

Gains paced by freight forwarding, contract logistics units

DHL Express will source 800 million liters of sustainable aviation fuel from Neste and BP.

Deutsche Post DHL's official Q3 results better than forecast (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

German transport and logistics giant Deutsche Post DHL on Tuesday reported its official third-quarter results, with revenue rising 20% year over year (y/y) to $23.9 billion and earnings before interest and taxes of $2.01 billion.

For 2022, Deutsche Post DHL (OTCUS: DPSGY) raised its EBIT guidance to a record $8.38 billion, up from an initial projection of $7.98 billion made in October. The first three quarters of 2022 were the best in the company’s multi-decade history, CEO Frank Appel said in a statement accompanying the results.

The EBIT margin of 8.5% came in below the prior-year level of 8.8%, Deutsche Post DHL said.

The air and ocean freight forwarding and contract logistics businesses were the key drivers, the company said. The global forwarding business posted a 57% y/y gain in EBIT and a 38.2% revenue increase. At $7.88 billion, the division was the revenue leader among the company’s five business units.


Air volumes in the quarter decreased y/y but were roughly comparable with second-quarter 2022 levels. Ocean freight volumes rose 11.9% due to the integration of J.F. Hillebrand, an ocean forwarding company that Deutsche Post DHL acquired in 2021 and closed on in March. EBIT for the unit rose to 7.4% in the quarter.

Revenue for DHL Supply Chain, the contract logistics unit, rose 14.5% to $4.22 billion. EBIT increased 54.9% y/y. The unit, the largest contract logistics business, reported strength in all regions. However, gains in the Americas were most pronounced as e-fulfillment demand gained traction, the company said.

DHL Express, the company’s international air express unit, reported a 21.8% revenue increase to $7.18 billion. EBIT rose 4.2% to $1 billion. Pricing measures and higher fuel surcharges offset a decline in international time-definite shipments to produce an EBIT margin of 14.1%, the company said. That was below the 16.4% EBIT margin in the year-earlier quarter.


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