Group revenue in the first quarter of 2024 almost stable at EUR 20.3 billion; operating profit (EBIT) of EUR 1.3 billion as expected below previous year’s level, but above pre-pandemic level.
- Group revenue in the first quarter of 2024 almost stable at EUR 20.3 billion (Q1 2023: EUR 20.9 billion)
- Operating profit (EBIT) of EUR 1.3 billion as expected below previous year’s level (Q1 2023: EUR 1.6 billion), but above pre-pandemic level (Q1 2019: EUR 1.2 billion)
- Free cash flow of EUR 608 million (Q1 2023: EUR 983 million; Q1 2019: EUR -256 million)
- Forecast for operating profit of between EUR 6.0 billion and EUR 6.6 billion confirmed
- Tobias Meyer, CEO DHL Group: “Despite all the challenges, 2024 is a year of opportunities.”
The logistics company DHL Group got off to a solid start to the new fiscal year in 2024. As expected, there was no significant upturn in the global economy in the first quarter of 2024. Despite these conditions, the Group generated revenue of EUR 20.3 billion (Q1 2023: EUR 20.9 billion). As anticipated, the operating profit (EBIT) of EUR 1.3 billion was below the previous year’s level (Q1 2023: EUR 1.6 billion) but exceeded the same period of the pre-pandemic year 2019 (Q1 2019: EUR 1.2 billion).
“We are in an unusually long phase of low momentum in global trade. In this environment, we continue to focus on consistent capacity and cost management. However, we also see further growth potential. The demand for omnishoring and e-commerce solutions remains high and our customers are becoming increasingly aware of sustainable logistics – we can clearly see this in the demand for GoGreen Plus. With our portfolio, we are ideally positioned to benefit from an upturn in global trade. Despite all the challenges, 2024 is a year of opportunities.” Tobias Meyer, CEO DHL Group
Measures to safeguard earnings and cash flow show an impact
DHL Group had already anticipated the slowdown in global economic momentum in 2022 and successfully introduced appropriate measures to safeguard earnings and cash flow. These measures include consistent capacity and cost management as well as price adjustments. In the first quarter of 2024, gross investments (capex) amounted to EUR 483 million (Q1 2023: EUR 569 million).
The Group continued to make targeted investments in the quality of its services and in structural growth trends such as omnishoring, e-commerce, sustainability and digitalization. Free cash flow was EUR 608 million (Q1 2023: EUR 983 million; Q1 2019: EUR -256 million).
In total, DHL Group generated consolidated net profit after non-controlling interests of EUR 743 million in the first three months of 2024 (Q1 2023: EUR 911 million). In the same period, basic earnings per share amounted to EUR 0.63 after EUR 0.76 in the first quarter of 2023.
Source: DHL Group