Kuehne und Nagel International AG

SIX:KNIN

Earnings Call Transcript 2021-Q4

[Operator]

Ladies and

gentlemen,

welcome

to

the

Full-Year

2021

Results

Conference

Call

and

Live

Webcast.

I

am

Alice,

the

Chorus

Call

operator.

I

would

like

to

remind

you

that

all

participants

will

be

on

listen-only

mode

and

the

conference

is

being

recorded.

The

presentation

will

be

followed

by

a

Q&A

session.

[Operator Instructions]



The

conference

must

not

be

recorded

for

publication

or

broadcast.

At

this

time,

it's

my

pleasure

to

hand

over

to

Dr.

Detlef

Trefzger,

CEO

of Kuehne+Nagel.

Please

go

ahead.

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

Thank

you,

Alice.

Good

morning,

good

day,

good

afternoon,

and

good

evening

to

all

of

you

and

welcome

to

the

analyst

conference

call

on

the

full-year

2021

results

of

Kuehne+Nagel

International

AG.

Our

CFO,

Markus

Blanka-Graff,

and

I

welcome

you

from

Switzerland.

We

prepared

an

analyst

presentation,

but

given

the

current

situation,

I

would

like

to

make

a

short

statement

before

we

[audio gap]



(01:03) to

the

details

of

last

year's

performance.

Russia's

acts

of

war

in

Ukraine

has

shaken

the

world

deeply.

As

a

company

operating

in

more

than

100

countries,

employing

people

of

different

nationalities

and

actively

fostering

cultural

diversity,

our

values

are

based

on

mutual

respect,

trust,

and

democracy.

We

believe

in

the

principles

of

the

United

Nations

and

the

peaceful

resolution

of

conflicts

amongst

nations

to

secure

a

sustainable

future

for

all.

Our

thoughts

are

with

the

people

of

Ukraine,

our

colleagues,

and

their

families.

Thank

you

for

listening.

And

now,

we

get

started

with

the

analyst

presentation.

And

as

always,

we

get

started

on

slide

3.

The

year

2021

has

been

another

remarkable

year.

Our

net

turnover

increased

by

almost

50%

organically,

while

the

results

more

than

doubled.

This

is an

extension

of

the

strong

trend

that

we

have

seen

from

the

start

of

the

year

2021,

a

confirmation

and

an

acceleration

of

our

strategy

and

the

deployment

of

the

strategic

programs

in

all

business

and

functional

units.

The

key

figures

you

see

here,

we

have

achieved

almost

CHF

9.9

billion

in

gross

profit,

which

is

up

32%

versus

previous

year

or

organically

28%.

We

have

generated

a

free

cash

flow

of

CHF

1.79

billion,

an

increase

of

23%

versus

previous

year

and

73%

from

a

pure

business

operational

point

of

view.

And

we

have

generated

earnings

per

share

of

CHF

16.92,

which

is

up

[ph]



factor 1.5 (03:07)

versus

previous

year.

Please

follow

me

on

slide

4,

details

on

the

group

and

some

of

the

highlights

of

the

business

units.

The

EBIT

of

the

group

has

landed,

so

to say,

or

has

generated

CHF

2.946

billion

with

a

conversion

rate

of

almost

30%.

If

you

see

the

sequential

increase

of

the

conversion

rate;

quarter

one,

21.3%;

quarter

two,

26.2%;

quarter

three,

31%;

and

quarter

four,

37.1%,

you

see

that

we

got

more

and more

traction

with

our

programs

and

that

the

volume

increase,

as

well

as

the

automation

and

technology

impacted

our

business

very

fruitfully.

Sea

Logistics

generated

an

EBIT

of

CHF

1.5

billion

with

a

very

high

service

intensity

still

ongoing,

and

a

positive

effect

from

the

product

mix,

we

will

share

some

more

details

later.

But

I

can

tell

you

[ph]



already (04:14)

now,

that

the

chaotic

market

situation

is

continuing

all

through

2021,

but

also

until

virtually

today.

Air

Logistics

strong

volume

and

yield

increase

both

from

acquisitions,

as

well

as

KN

stand-alone.

And

an

excellent

collaboration

with

our

colleagues

from

Apex,

they

contributed,

or

acquisitions

contributed,

the

majority

is

Apex,

to

an

EBIT

of

CHF

442

million

in 2021.

It's

great

to

see

and

I said

so

in

the

last

call

by

chance,

but

it's

great

to

see

the

entrepreneurial

spirit

of

our

colleagues

at

Apex.

It's

a

very

synergetic

approach,

and

I

will

tell

you

some

more

details

when

we

come

to

the

Air

Logistics

business

unit.

Road

Logistics,

an

EBIT

of

CHF

94

million.

Volume

growth,

strong

volume

growth

in

Europe,

also

domestically

and

cross-border.

High

demand

for

digital

solutions,

a

very

solid

operation

and

our

digital

solutions

really

are

a

game-changer

in

this

segment.

And

Contract

Logistics

posted

an

EBIT

of

CHF 156

million,

which

is

mainly

due

to

a

stronger

margin

post-restructuring,

as

well

as

a

strong

organic

growth

centered

around

pharma

and

e-commerce

fulfillment.

On

the

spot

operational

quality

in

all

sides

and

a

flawless

implementation

of

many

new

projects

last

year

show

that

this

business

is

growing

and

is

performing

extremely

well

after

the

restructuring.

Having

said

that,

now

let's

look

into

the

details

of

the

business

units

and

please

follow

me

on

slide

6.

Sea

volume

growth

nominal

2%

last

year

and

organic

growth

of

minus

3%

last

year.

But

if

you

look

into

the

strong

volume

growth

where

it

matters,

it's

on

the

transpac

as

well

as

on

Europe,

North

America,

so

Transatlantic.

We

see

double-digit

growth

on

both

trade

lanes.

We

have

a

very

hot

topic

in

the

market

that

is

also

impacting

the

volume

development,

which

is

the

sustained

and

[ph]



expanded (06:47)

service

intensity.

The

chaotic

sea

freight

markets

demand,

a

lot

of

manual

interference

and

optimization

in

order

to

get

the

shipments

or

the

shipments

moving

as

flawless

as

possible.

The

market

has

shown

a

growth

of

6%.

If

you

exclude

our

cargo

mix

shift

where

we

have

moved

away

from

low-margin

businesses

like

[ph]



forestry

program (07:17) pulp

and

paper,

recycling

material

and

the

like,

we

would

have

seen

an

organic

growth

of

most

likely

3%,

4%.

The

market

situation

with

port

closures,

congestions,

equipment

and

driver

shortages,

rail

congestion,

natural

disasters,

and

the

like

are

ongoing.

And

most

likely

this

will

take

longer

to

get

resolved

given

the

same

demand

that

we

see

in

the

market.

Our

focus

is on

customer

service

and

cargo

mix

and

making

the

shipments

move

as

flawless

as

possible.

Air

Logistics

versus a

market

growth

of

15%,

we

boosted

our

growth

significantly,

also

partly

from

a

[ph]



modal (08:10)

shift

from

sea

freight

to

airfreight.

And

we

have

seen

an

organic

growth

of

1.8

times

market

of

the

KN

business, the

KN

stand-alone

business,

and

together

with

the

acquisition

impact

from

Apex

and

Salmosped,

we

have

seen

a

growth

of

almost

60%

volume

in

our

networks.

The

focus

is,

as

we

said

in

the

last

quarterly

calls,

on

pharma,

aerospace,

e-commerce,

perishables,

and

for

the

transpacific,

also

automotive,

and

consumer

electronics.

We

have

not

seen

any

change

in

long-haul

[ph]



PAX

(08:56) capacity,

therefore

– the

belly

capacity,

therefore,

our

focus

is

on

producing

charters

[ph]



block

space,

means

which

are

expanding

(09:03) and

long-term

charters

like

what

we

have

posted

a

couple

of

weeks

ago.

On

slide

8,

we

[ph]



come

into

(09:15) the

KPIs,

the

key

performance

indicators

for

Sea

Logistics.

You

see

that

we

have

seen

a

strong

yield

development,

reflecting

both

what

I've

said

before

the

favorable

portfolio

mix,

mainly

focusing

on

blue chip

customers

and

small-

and

medium-sized

enterprises,

and

the

[ph]



most (09:36)

in

high-yielding

market

segment,

especially

those

that

require

a

high

service

intensity

plus

the

geographic

focus

on

transpac

and

Transatlantic,

renewable

energy,

and

also

LCL

shipments.

The

yield

expansion

is

more

than

compensated

– has

more

than

compensated

for

the

sequential

unit

cost

increase,

and

we

don't

see

any

relaxation

for

the

intensified

workload

that

we

experienced

in

the

market

and

with

our

[indiscernible]



(10:07) at

the

moment

to

make,

and

I've said

this

already

two

or

three

times,

the

shipments

move

as

smooth

as

possible.

EBIT

full

year

at

CHF 1.5

billion,

which

is

significantly

higher

than

the

previous

year.

And

you

have seen

that

we

got

a

lot

of

momentum

in

this

development

in

the

quarter,

quarter

four

2021.

On

slide

10,

you

will

see

the

KPIs

and

the

details

of

the

Air

Logistics

market,

an

excellent

and

strong

performance

also

here.

Like

in

Sea

Logistics,

we

have

seen

organic

yield

increase

in

quarter

four

of

plus

9%

versus

the

third

quarter.

We

have

seen

organic

cost

development

rather

stable,

that

is

also

a

contributable

to

our

eTouch

initiatives,

which

we

will

give

some

flavor

on

later

on.

And

also

the

reflection

of

higher

share

of

digital

platform

business

that

we

will

that

–

that

we

have

installed

and

[ph]



incentivized (11:18)

for

our

customers.

The

Apex

yields are

reflecting

the

tight

capacities,

and

the

volume

growth

is contributable

to

the

focus

of

Apex

on

the

transpacific.

And

we

also

see

clear

evidence

already

from

our

joint

procurement

activities,

so

procurement

synergies

with

Apex.

EBIT

full

year

CHF

1.167

billion

and

out

of

which,

almost

50%

generated

in

the

last

quarter

in an

extremely

tight

and hot

market

where

we

have

faced

also

a

[ph]



here all

or (12:00)

we

have

done

efforts

to

offer

the

best

service

quality

that

was

possible

in

the

[ph]



weak (12:10)

market

environment.

The

next

business

unit

I

would

like

to

refer

to

in

more

detail

is

Road

Logistics

on

slide

12.

Road

Logistics

gained

significant

momentum

in

2021,

and

the

momentum

sequentially

increased

quarter-by-quarter.

A

strong

volume

growth

in

core

European

markets,

especially

domestic

networks.

I

mentioned

that

initially,

but

also

we

see

first

signs

of

driver

and

capacity

shortages

in

the

fourth,

maybe

partly

at

the

end

of

the

third

quarter,

and

a

high

demand

for

digital

solutions,

our

visibility

towards

our

software-as-a-service

solutions,

as

well

as

our

[ph]



custom's

(12:55) platform.

EBIT

full-year

ended

or

were

at

CHF 94

million,

which

is

52%

above

prior

[ph]

year (13:06),

out

of

which,

a

quarter

was

almost

generated

in

quarter

four

last

year.

And

last

but

not

least,

Contract

Logistics,

organic

growth,

I

mentioned

that

centered

around

pharma

and

e-commerce.

And

the

details

of

the

performance

you

will

see

on

slide

14.

A

very

strong

operational

performance,

organic

quarter

four

net

turnover

growth

of

more

than

10%,

which

led

to

an

organic

growth

for

the

fiscal

year

of

7%,

which

is almost

on

market. Market,

I

think,

was

5%

to

6%.

We had

a

bit

of

a

tailwind from

the

UK

divestiture

on

EBIT

level,

but

at

the

end

of

the

day,

the

operational

performance was

extremely

strong

in

Contract

Logistics,

and

the

trade

in

Asia

and

North

America

is

2

times

the

trade

of

Europe.

And

that's

important

because

our

geographic

split

was

always

intended

to

more

– to

balance

our

portfolio

in

Contract

Logistics

projects

more.

The

drivers

are,

I

repeat

myself,

pharma,

healthcare,

e-commerce,

all

was

double-digit

growth,

and

this

is

continuing

and

we

see

a

huge

momentum

that

has

been

generated

in

Contract

Logistics

with

an

EBIT

for

the

full

year

2021

at

CHF 156

million,

which

is

95%

above

prior

year

and

CHF

42

million

in

quarter

four

alone,

which

is

52%

above –

50%,

sorry,

above the

prior

year.

And

having

said,

[ph]



though (14:47),

the

details

of

the

business

units,

I'm

happy

to

hand

over

to

Markus,

to

give

you

some

more

inputs

and

insights

into

the

financial

figures.

[Markus Blanka-Graff]

Thank

you,

Detlef.

Ladies

and

gentlemen,

welcome,

also

from

my

side.

I

think

one

can

say

that

it

was

a

remarkably

successful

year,

and

let

me

start

on

the

income

statement,

at

slide

number

16,

busy

slide

as

always

at the

year

end,

obviously,

eight

quarters

and each

individual

year-to-date

numbers

on

it.

Let

me

just

highlight

two or

three

numbers

on

it.

Increase

of

gross

profit

by

CHF

2.4

billion,

EBITDA

nearly

doubled

and

earnings

before

tax

nearly

tripled.

I

think

a

simple

summary

of

that

year,

that's

what

I

said

already,

I

think,

was

remarkably

successful.

Net

earnings

increased

[ph]



over

the

year

at (15:43) CHF

1.2

billion. And

you

can

see

two

more

noticeable

components

that

I

wanted

to

mention.

One

that

is

quite

extraordinary

as

well.

I

think

it

did

not

happen

since

many

years,

I

would

have

to

check

how

many.

But

the

exchange

rate

difference,

the

forex

difference

for

once

has

not

been

negative

against

us.

So,

the

translation

impact

has

been

relatively

neutral.

That

certainly

we

have

to

consider

also

for

the

result.

And

as

a

result,

and

as

a

consequence

of

the

Apex

deal

with

Partners

Group,

we

have

the

first

time

since

a

long

period

[ph]



seeking (16:34)

non-controlling

interest

line,

which

is

in the

year

2021

with

CHF

123

million.

The

vast majority

of

that

is

related

to

the

Partners

Group

participation.

Let

me

continue

on

short

reconciliation

on

income

statement

in

terms

of

organic

and

operational

performance.

And

we

have

already

made

some

comments

around

the

acquisition

that

that

is

an

accelerator

and

has

given

us

a

very

significant

contribution

to

our

profitability.

Nonetheless,

also

from

a

pure

organic

growth

perspective,

the Kuehne+Nagel

organization

has

increased

by

124%

the

EBIT,

which

translates

into

nearly

CHF

1.3

billion

for

the

year

2021.

And,

of

course,

balance

sheet,

something

that

reflects

that

development

as

well.

We

have

an

expansion

of

the

balance

sheet

of

nearly

CHF 5

billion

or

a

bit

more

even

than

50%

of

previous

year,

so

30th

of

December

2020

total

balance

sheet.

Where

is

that

coming

from?

Three

major

components:

one,

trade

receivable,

an

increase

of CHF

3

billion

out

of

the CHF

5 billion;

then

the

goodwill

increase

from the

acquisition

of

Apex

roughly CHF

1

billion;

and

the

rest

is

basically

smaller

items

and,

of

course,

balance

that

has

increased

for

another

CHF 700

million

on

a year-over-year

basis.

On

the

liability

side,

for

sure,

similar

picture.

Trade

payables

increase

for

around

CHF

1

billion

as

well

as

accruals

for

trade

payables

increase

of

around CHF

1

billion,

and

the

difference

majorly

in

the

equity.

Important

for

all

of

us

and

one

of

the

significant

KPIs

we

look

at,

obviously,

cash

and

free

cash

flow.

I'm

already

on

page

number

19

of

the

presentation.

Let

me

start

on

the

right

side

with

the

graphical

picture

of

the

last

three

years'

free

cash

flow

generation.

You

can

see

the

pattern

is

very

consistent.

So,

I

think

we

have

repeatedly

reported

around

this

that

the

seasonality

is

very

similar,

and

just

the

numbers

have

increased

quite

significantly.

On

the

left

side,

a

reflection

of

what

I

just

said

in

numbers.

Operational

cash

flow

increased

by

nearly

CHF 1.8

billion.

Where

did

it

go

to?

We

had

investment

obviously

into

the

Apex

acquisition

of

around

CHF

1

billion.

And

changes

in

working

capital,

I

want

to

mention

that

specifically,

we

have

CHF

800 million,

nearly

CHF

900 million

put

into

working

capital.

I

will

explain

that

in

a

minute,

but

that

is

the

big

picture

summary

of

cash

and

free

cash

flow

generation.

Page

number

20,

you

see

here

the

net

working

capital.

I

just

mentioned

the

increase

from

a

cash

flow

perspective.

From

a

net

working

capital

perspective,

it

is

even on

a

CHF 1.5

billion

number

that

we

have

expanded

our

net

working

capital,

a

number

that

should

make

us

think,

especially

me

as

the

CFO,

what

are

we

doing.

But

when

you

look

into

where

it's

coming

from,

I

feel

more

comfortable

that

we

have

a

good

control

of

what's

happening

because

when

you

look

at

the

DSOs,

so

the

numbers

of

days

of

sales

outstanding,

meaning

our

terms

with

customers.

So,

the

days

when

customers

settle

their

invoices,

we

have

hardly

any

movement

actually,

if

so,

to

the

better.

So,

our

days

of

sales

outstanding

is

at

49.2.

That

translates

for

me,

obviously,

similar

risk

profile,

same

number

of

days

outstanding,

just

on

a

much

bigger

sales

ledger.

Where

the

variance

come

from

is

from

the

days

of

purchase

outstanding,

so

the

DPOs.

That

is

the

time

when

we

pay

our

suppliers,

and

that

is

mainly

driven

through

change

in

our

business

model

in

air

freight

that

a

lot

of

the

capacity

we

currently

purchase

is

not

on

a

standard

airline

contract

for

value

capacity,

which

you

all

know

was

usually

cleared

through

IATA CASS

payments,

but

is

much

more

on

the

charter

basis,

which

has

very

little

payment

terms,

if

at

all,

if

it's

not

a

prepayment

arrangement

altogether.

But

that

is

something

that

is

driven

through

the

change

in

the

business

model.

And

at

the

same

time,

it

is

at

our

discretion,

if

you

like,

to

manage

these

payment

terms

with

suppliers.

So,

from

that

perspective,

looks

like

a

big

number

and

is

a

big

number,

but

I

think

for

the

right

reasons.

Page

number

21,

return

on

capital

employed.

When

I

first

looked

at

the

slide,

it

looked

a

bit

goofy

to

me,

but

that

is

the

reality

what

the

numbers

say.

I

think,

again,

here

I

would

look

at

the light

blues

or

the

lower

line

of

the

graph,

which

is

indeed

the

return

on

capital

employed.

It's

certainly

a

top

mark.

You

remember

some

of

my

comments

in

the

past,

I

said

around

a

70%

mark

should

be

our

standard

performance,

if

you

like.

Here,

I

think

we

have

to

rethink

with

the

increased

profitability

and

efficiency

if

we

would

give

a

new

guidance,

if

you

like,

what

is

our

standard return

on

capital

employed.

But

it's

not

everything

about

rates

and

margins.

Obviously,

volume

is

one

of

the

major

drivers

in

the

success

of

last

year.

Detlef

has

mentioned

it

already

through

the

business

units.

I

don't

want

to

repeat

most

of

it.

But

you

can

see

here

on

the

Sea

Logistics

side,

as

mentioned,

influenced

by

capacity

and

product

mix.

On

the

Air

Logistics

side,

I

think

a

good

split

between

the

organic

and

the

acquisition

growth.

And

for

Road

Logistics

and

Contract

Logistics,

both

above

the

market.

Looking

forward,

more

and more

importance

will

be

on

the

efficiency

of

our

operation.

And

that

is

a

synonym

for

us

for

our

eTouch

initiatives

in

operation.

So,

talking

volume,

as

I

did

before,

talking

volume

does

also

mean

talking

efficiency.

And

slide

number 23

is

really

a

recap

on

what

is

eTouch

and

how

does it

work.

And

this

pictogram

is

nothing

else

than

a

way

of

simplifying

and

highlighting

what

we

try

to

do.

In

simple

words,

you

can

read

the

text

on

the

left

side,

but

it

is

standardization,

then

sequencing

of

the

task,

then

centralizing

some

of

the

task,

and

ultimately

automating

the

processes.

That's

really

what

it

is

all

about.

Sounds

very

simple.

But

I

think

you

appreciate

that

our

processes

might

be

very

complex

to

begin

with.

And

over

the

last

24

month,

maybe

even also

changing

quite

frequently

based

on

the

rather

challenging

environment

we

are

working.

Why

do

we

do

that?

Cost

control

for

sure

is

one

of

the

reasons.

But

over

the

last

couple

of

years,

we

have

also

realized

that

preserving

more

time

of

our

operators

for

service-related

matters,

so

to the

benefit

of

customer

service

and

customer

care,

is

really

what

matters

more

in

that

context.

So,

we

try

to

free

up

that

time

and

dedicate

it

to

quality

and

customer service.

Small

snapshot,

how does

that

look

like,

as

an

example,

in

the

air

freight

perspective,

page

number

24.

A

snapshot,

as

I

say,

is

not

a

comprehensive

reporting

on

all

the

eTouch

initiatives.

We

picked

a

couple

of

milestones

activity

in

the

air

freight

operation,

customer

quotation,

documentation,

invoicing.

What

you

see

the

first

column

is

the

numbers

of

hours

saved

in

thousand.

Just

to

give

you

a

bit

of

a

context

of

this,

when

we

look

into

the

first

one,

360,000

man

hours

saved.

If

you

translate

that

into

full-time

equivalents

with

a

work

hour

of

8

hours

a

day

and

220

days

a

year,

that

would

represent

approximately

200 to

220

FTEs. So, the

overall

saving

of

1.275

million

man

hours,

which

approximately

represents

750

FTEs, and

that

translates

in

the

operation

air

freight

into

an

improvement

of

conversion

rate

of

around

1.8%,

so say,

2%.

Is

that

what

we

have

put

out

as

our

target?

Not

yet.

You

may

remember

we

said

we

want

to

improve

conversion

rate

at

around

3%

for

sea

as

well

as

air

freight.

We're

on

the

way of

getting

there.

The

operational

framework

today

obviously

is

far

away

from

a

standard

normal

routine

job.

I

think

the

fewest

job

we

currently

have

are

routine

jobs.

But

nevertheless,

looking

forward,

automation

standardization

what

I

mentioned

beforehand

is

the

key

for

efficient

operation.

All

of

that

is a

matter

of

technology

and

I

think

technological

competence.

And

when

we

flip

to

the

next

page,

which

talks

about

technology

and

innovation,

three

main

items.

It

means,

in

simple

terms,

what

do

we

provide

as

forward-looking

information

to

our

customers.

So,

real-time

data

in

a

proper

data

quality

with

a

certain

predictive

visibility.

So,

this

is

forward-looking,

that's

what

we

do

for

the

customer.

The

second

part

is

how

do

we

free

up

time

for

the customers.

So,

how

do

I

free

up

time

from

my

operation

to

dedicate

that

to

customers?

Automation,

with

a

certain

usage

of

artificial

intelligence,

also

here

I'm being

very

transparent,

artificial

intelligence

is

something

we

use.

We

don't

want

to

say

experiment,

but

it's

still

an

area

where

I

think

we

can

do

more

and

we

will

do

more.

And

last

but

not

least,

I

think

very

important

in

our

modern

way

of

thinking

and

service

customers

is

the

easiness

of

doing

business.

So,

be

easy,

be

simple,

plug

and

play.

We're

all

used

to

download

an

application

and

start

doing

it.

And

exactly

like

that,

the

Kuehne+Nagel

applications

for

our

customers

are

designed

to

do.

So,

now

we

talked

about

what's

in

it

for

the

customer,

what's

in

it

for

efficiency.

Last

slide

for

me,

if

I

may,

what's

in

it

for

the

shareholder.

And

I

think

page

number

26

is

quite

an

impressive

proof

of

that.

Two

lines

about

it.

The

proposal

to

the

AGM

is

going

to

be

CHF

10 dividend

per

share.

That

represents

around

59%

of

net

profit

after

tax

payout

ratio,

which

is

exactly

in

the

range

that

we

have

always

indicated,

and

represents

just

slightly

above

3.5%

yield

based

on

the

average share

price

of

the

year

2021.

With

that

message, I

would

like

to

hand

back

for

Detlef

on

a

topic

that

is also

at

the

heart

of

our

operation

and

strategy.

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

It

is.

And

now

it's

on

me

to

talk

about

what's

in

it

for

the

environment.

And

despite

all

the

market

dynamics,

supply

chain

disruptions,

capacity

and

labor

shortages,

and

so

on

and

so

forth,

we

focus

on

transitioning

to

a

global

zero

carbon

future.

And

it

has

a

couple

of

dimensions.

One

is

the

Scope

1

and

2

emissions,

our

own

emissions,

so

to say,

where

we

focus

many

initiatives

to

reduce

them

as

much

as

we

can.

And

the

science-based

targets

that

we

are

offering

to

our

customers

with

data-driven

insights,

design

and

optimization

of

supply

chain

solutions,

alternative

transport

modes,

as

well

as

low

carbon

fuels

such

as

SAF.

And

we

are

driving

a

transition

to

a

zero

carbon

business

model

and

we

support

our

customers in

doing

so.

And

we

have

many

customers

that

have

signed

up

and

committed

to

the

science-based

targets

initiative

as

we

did

as

well.

On

highlights.

We

have

pushed

forward

a

lot

of

initiatives

last

year.

Some

of

the

highlights

are

really –

they

are

close

to

my

heart.

We

have

promoted

the world's

first

power-to-liquid

production

of

synthetic

sustainable

aviation

fuel,

SAF.

We

have

reduced

the

carbon

footprint

by

70%

for

one

of

our

customers

by

just

shifting

the

supply

chain from truck

to

railways.

We

have

installed

Luxembourg's

biggest

photovoltaic

installation

on

the

roof

of

our

Contern

site

in

Luxembourg,

and

we

are

already

last

year

have

been

using

78%

of

our

own

energy

consumption

based

on

renewable

energy.

We

have

a

lot

of

plans

to

continue

that

journey

to

a

low carbon

business

model,

and

we

see

high

demand

and

interest

from

customer,

partner,

and

to

make

use

of

that

approach.

Having

said

that,

let

us

give

a

short

outlook

to

2022.

Markets,

we

see

GDP

growth

expectations

still

of

4.3%.

But

we

also

have

a

lot – not

a

lot,

but

we

have

significant

geopolitical

uncertainties.

The

macroeconomic

effects

of

[ph]



thus (32:57)

are

not

known

yet.

The

inefficient

supply

chains

with

network

disruption

and

congestion

will

continue.

There's

no

sign

of

relief,

not

from

today's

perspective,

and

we

see

stabilization

at

the

moment

not

even

with

the

consumption

patterns.

Consumption

is

going

on.

And

we

will

see

infrastructure

investments

that

we

will

have

to

foster

[ph]



in

order

(33:31) to

optimize

global

supply

chains.

That

was

the

market

perspective.

Kuehne+Nagel,

we

continue

with

a

very

agile,

high

service

quality,

and

network

reliability.

This

will

put

high

demand

on

all

our

great

colleagues

that

are

close

to

our

customers

and

that

do

their

utmost

to

have

on-time

deliveries

in

all

shipments

that

we

channel

through

our

networks.

We

will

continue

our

investments

in

sustainable

logistics

solutions

as

well

as

into

digital

solutions,

digital

platforms.

And

we

will

focus

on

the

profitability,

but

more

important,

leveraging

the

companies

we

have

acquired

in

our

network

and

for

the

benefit

of

our

customers.

And

the

digital

transformation

is

in

full

swing.

You

have

seen

with

eTouch

[indiscernible]



(34:23)

benefits

out

of

that.

We

aim

for

more

and

we

will

continue

to

driving

hard

to

achieve

our

targets.

With

that,

I

thank

you

for

listening

so

far,

and

I

hand

back

to

Alice

for

the

Q&A

session.

[Operator]

We

will

now

begin

the

question-and-answer

session.

[Operator Instructions]



The

first question

comes

from

the

line

of

Alex

Irving

with

Bernstein. Please

go

ahead.

[Alex Irving, Analyst, Bernstein Autonomous LLP]

Hi.

Good

afternoon.

So,

three

from

me,

please.

First

of

all,

on

the

ongoing

situation

with

Russia

and

Ukraine,

just

any

comments

on

how

this

affects

your

business

specifically

across

volumes,

deals,

and

OpEx,

given

we've had

[ph]

book

expansions (35:24),

airspace

closures,

sanctions

and

those

kind of

measures.

Any

further

developments

that

we

might

be

looking

[indiscernible]



(35:33) have

a

meaningful

impact?

Secondly,

on

air

freight,

obviously,

very good

performance

this

quarter, and

Apex

looks

to

be

extremely

strong – you

mentioned

procurement

synergies

earlier

on.

How

much of

this

improvement

is

sustainable and

what do

you

think

that

looks

like

in

a

normalized

world,

especially

on a

GP

and

OpEx

per

ton

basis?

And

then

third

and

finally,

one

of

your

competitors

[indiscernible]



(35:55)

quite

a

large

cyberattack

in

recent

weeks.

How

does that

affect

your

business

and

growth

prospects?

[ph]



Maybe

specifically

on

(36:01) transpacific

air freight.

Thank

you.

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

Alex,

thanks

for

your

questions.

Let

me

start

with

the

Russia

invasion

in

Ukraine

and

the

effects.

Locally,

at

the

moment,

we

have

stopped

business,

as

you're

aware,

and

we

don't

see

a

big

impact

at

the

moment.

Other

than

that,

we

are

concerned

about

the

security

of

our

people,

and

that's

the

focus

for

the

time

being.

The

bigger

picture

is

that

overflights

over

Russian

territory

as

well

as

Ukrainian

territory

are

prohibited

right

now.

That

will

lead

to

longer

lead

times

for

the

air

cargo

network

towards

Northeast

of

Asia,

so Japan,

Korea,

and

the

North

of

China.

And

this

we

need

to

provide

for

in

our

flight

operation.

The

long-term

macroeconomic

outcome,

nobody

knows.

And

I

think

all

the

sanctions

are

geared

towards

stopping

the

invasion.

And

that

is

what

we

all

should

focus

and

concentrate

on,

and

then

see

what

will

be,

hopefully,

the

solution

for

stopping

war

in

Europe.

Your

second

question,

Apex

procurement.

I

think

Apex has

a

great

customer

base,

has

a

great

solutioning,

and

procurement

is

one

aspect

of

the

synergies

which

we

see.

I

would

expect

that

this

will

be

ongoing

also

this

year.

The

question

really

is,

Alex,

what

is

a

normalized

market?

And

we

have

mentioned

that

most

likely

transport

and

logistics

rates

will

be

higher

in this

decade. I'm

not

talking

2022,

but

longer

than

what

we

have

experienced

in

the

last

decade,

for

many

reasons,

infrastructure

investments,

data

connectivity,

and

the

like,

and

also

sustainability

as

an

investment

area.

As

long

as

the

transpacific

trade

is

strong,

we

will

have

a

strong

performance

of

Apex.

And

that

is

driven

by

the

consumers

in

North

America

and

the

exporters

in

Asia.

And

most

likely,

the

seasonality

will

show

its

pattern.

So,

quarter

one

is always

a

bit

lower

than

quarter

four,

as

you

know.

There

is

no

Christmas

season

in

the

first

quarter,

unfortunately.

And

we

will

see

this.

But

in

principle,

Apex

will

continue

to

be

a

strong

contributor

to

our

growth

as

well

as

to

the

EBIT.

Cyber,

I

think

–

what

should

I

say?

I

think,

at

the

moment, we

concentrate

on

securing

our

networks

and

continuing

with

our

operations.

And

we

can

only

urge

that

not

only

companies,

but

also

nations

collaborate

in

order

to

avoid

and

reduce

the

risk

of

cyberattacks

into

critical

infrastructure

providers

and

critical

companies.

Thank

you.

[indiscernible]

[Alex Irving, Analyst, Bernstein Autonomous LLP]

(39:17)

on

the

cyberattack's

question,

I'm

referring

more specifically

to

the

disruption

suffered

by

Expeditors

in

the

last

couple

of

weeks

and

if

you're

seeing

any

additional

volumes,

any

customers

coming

to

you

as

a

result

of

that?

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

Alex, I think

my

explanations

were

sufficient.

Thank

you.

[Alex Irving, Analyst, Bernstein Autonomous LLP]

Okay.

Thanks.

[Operator]

The

next

question comes

from

the

line

of

Sathish

Sivakumar

with

Citigroup.

Please

go

ahead.

[Sathish B. Sivakumar, Analyst, Citigroup Global Markets Ltd.]

Thanks,

Detlef

and

Markus.

I've

got

two

questions.

So,

first

one

is

on

the

customer

mix.

So,

as

the

customer

mix,

i.e.,

if

you

compare,

say,

SMEs

to

large

corporates,

has

changed

due

to

the

shift

in

the

product

mix

because

you're

no

longer

taking

some

low-value

cargos. So,

how

has

it

actually

impacted

your

customer

mix?

What

is

your

exposure

to

SMEs,

say,

in

2021?

And

the

second

one

is

around

the

cash

conversion.

The

strong

[ph]



FX (40:18)

growth

is

actually

impacting

your

working

capital

and

also

cash

conversion.

In

2021,

if

you

see,

the

free

cash

flow

conversion

is

around

60%.

So, how

should

I

think

about

cash

conversion

in

normalized

levels?

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

Thanks

for

your

questions.

Customer

mix is a

statement

versus

the

value

of

the

products

our

customers

ship.

So,

also

an

SME

customer

can

have

high-value

goods

that

can

bear

the

transport

cost

currently

in

the

market,

and

we

are

doing

business

with

them.

Our

percentage

of

SME

customers

has

not

changed

significantly.

From

a

volume

perspective,

it's

around

20%

to

30%

of

our

volume.

[Markus Blanka-Graff]

Okay.

Hi

Sathish.

And

on

the

cash

conversion,

obviously,

yes,

you're

right.

It's

a

lot

of

that

being

through

the

expansion,

I

think.

Assuming

that

rates

either

stay

that

way

and

volume

growth

is

the

only

driver

to

that,

or

even

rates

coming

down

slightly,

I

would

expect

a

standard

pretty

much

close

to

what

we

had

in

the

past.

So,

I

would

think,

and

that

is

with

a

caveat,

obviously,

we

would

go

in

the

range

between

80%,

85%,

again,

as

we

had

in

the

past.

I

think

that

is

at

least

for

the

near

future

something

that

we

should

envisage.

Having

said

that,

I

could

be

a

total

fool

if

in

three

years

from

now,

I

don't know,

rates

are

coming

down

significantly,

the

sales

ledger

is

contracting

again,

and

we

have

a

year

with

110%

conversion

rate.

But

then

we

will

see.

[Sathish B. Sivakumar, Analyst, Citigroup Global Markets Ltd.]

Okay.

Got

it.

Just

a

clarification.

So,

the 20%

to

30%

is

the

SME

mix,

right,

portfolio

across

[indiscernible]



(42:18)

contract, yeah?

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

Correct.

[Sathish B. Sivakumar, Analyst, Citigroup Global Markets Ltd.]

Okay.

Thank

you very

much.

[indiscernible]



(42:25)

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

Thanks,

Sathish.

Bye-bye.

[Operator]

The

next

question

comes

from

the

line

of

Muneeba

Kayani

with

Bank

of

America. Please

go

ahead.

[Muneeba Kayani, Analyst, Bank of America]

Good

afternoon.

I

just

wanted

to

follow up

on

the

earlier

question

on

the

impact

of

the

Ukraine

crisis

and

specifically

on

the

sea

market.

How

do

you

see

that

kind

of

impacting

the

sea

ship freight

market,

if

at

all?

And

then,

secondly,

do

you

think

that

air

freight

rates

and

as

well

as

container

shipping

rates

could

go

higher

in

the

next

couple

of

weeks

because

of

all

this

disruption?

And

then

on

M&A

[ph]



in

the

sector (43:08),

we've

seen

kind

of

news

flow

pick

up,

at

least,

in

the

press

about

DB

Schenker

being

up

for

a

sale.

Any

comments

there

would

be

helpful

to

understand

how

you're

thinking

about

kind

of

bigger

M&A

going

forward?

And

then

lastly,

the

union

on

the

Port

of

LA, Long

Beach,

the

ILWU

negotiations

are

starting

off

with

a

contract

expiring

maybe

this

year,

how

do

you

see

that

impacting

the

sea

freight

market?

Thank

you.

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

Hello,

Muneeba.

Thanks

for

the

firework

of

questions.

The

Sea

Logistics

market

at

the

moment

is

not

really

impacted

by

the

Ukraine

crisis,

at

least

not

material

for

us

or

in

our

networks.

And

the

biggest

impact

is on

the,

as

I

said,

the

overflight

rights

on

the

Russian

and

Ukrainian

territories,

which

will

lead

to

re-routings

of

air

freight,

which

will

take,

I

don't know,

12, 14

hours

long

than

the

average

travel

time

for

air

cargo

to

Northeast

– to

and

from

North

Asia,

Northeast

Asia.

The

rates

can

always

go

higher

and

can

go

lower.

At

the

moment, nobody

can

judge.

Our

disruption

indicator

shows a

very

stable

situation

for

a couple

of days,

but

on

an

extremely

high

level,

we

have

12.5

million

TEU

[ph]



days

waiting (44:40)

in

front

of

ports.

80%

of

that

is

geared

towards

the

West

and

East

Coast

of

the

US.

And

nobody

knows

how

this

will

develop.

This

is

also

true

for

the

unions

on

the

West

Coast

and

the

upcoming

negotiations.

We

experienced

a

lot

of

things

six

years

ago,

I

think,

and

nobody

knows how

this

will

develop.

The

M&A,

DB

Schenker,

I

think

that's

almost

a

classical

question.

Our

M&A

strategy

has

not

changed.

We

have

always

commented

on

that and

size

is not

what

we

are

looking

at.

It's

more

competence

and

geography,

coverage

of

market

segments,

solutioning.

And

that

is

what

we

are

interested

in.

Let's

see

how

this

process

continues

and

conclude

when

facts

are

communicated.

Thank

you.

[Muneeba Kayani, Analyst, Bank of America]

Thank

you.

[Operator]

The

next

question comes

from

the line

of

Sam

Bland

with

JPMorgan.

Please

go

ahead.

[Samuel J. Bland, Analyst, JPMorgan Securities Plc]

Thanks

for taking

the

question.

I

have

two,

please.

First

one

is

on

the

Air

unit

margins

on

slide 10.

Looks

like

most of

the

benefit

in

Q4

came

from

Apex.

I

can

kind of

understand

why

Apex

benefited

more

than

the

rest

of

the

Air

division.

But

maybe

surprised

that

the

rest of

the

Air

division

didn't

really

see

that

much

of

a

unit

margin

increase.

Why

is

that?

Why

is

the

rest

of

the

business

not

seeing

an

increase?

And

the

second

question

is,

you

mentioned

earlier

in

the

comment

that

you're

moving

away

from

some

low

margin

items.

Is

your

intention

to

take

those

back

in

the

future

as

and

when

air

freight

or

air

or

sea

freight

rates

come

down?

Or

do you

think

that's

kind of

now

permanently

moving

away

from

some

of

those

lower

margin

or

lower

value

items?

Thank

you.

[Markus Blanka-Graff]

Hi,

Sam,

it's

Markus.

So,

for

the

Air

unit

slide

10,

I

think,

first

of

all,

yes,

you're

definitely

right

in

your

observation

that

most

of

the

increase

is

coming

from

the

Apex

acquisition.

But

having

said

that,

it

truly

comes

from

the

transpac

trade.

So,

also

the

KN

business

on

the

transpac

trade

has

similar

profitability. It's

just

much

smaller

than –

[ph]

on

the

effect, let's –

than

what

the

Apex

volume

has (47:17-47:22). So –

but

transpac

is

the

hot

trade,

clear.

I

think

we

have

mentioned

that.

I

think

the

access

to

capacity

through

Apex,

one

of

the

reasons

why

we

have

made

that

acquisition,

has

been – has proven

superior

to

many

of

the

other

competitors.

So,

I

think

we

have

done

or

Apex

management

together

with

us

has

done

a

very

good

way

of

securing

capacity

and

of

course,

benefiting

from

a

hot trade

which

is

transpacific.

And

that's

what

you

see

in

that

[ph]



quarterly (48:05) development.

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

Then,

your

last

question

on

low-margin

businesses,

especially

Sea

Logistics,

the

sea

cargo

mix, we

can

plug

in

additional

volumes

if

there

is

a

desire

for

it.

At

the

moment,

we

concentrate

on

the

high-yielding,

but

also

high-demanding

customers

because

there's

scarce

capacity

in

the

market.

But

it's

on

us

to

open

up

additional

volumes

again

once

those

customers

can

bear

the

freight

rates

which

might

be

lower

in

the

in

the

near

or

further

away

future.

[Samuel J. Bland, Analyst, JPMorgan Securities Plc]

Yes.

Understood.

Thank

you very

much.

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

You're

welcome.

[Operator]

The

next

question comes

from

the

line

of

Michael

Foeth

with

Vontobel.

Please

go

ahead.

[Michael Foeth, Analyst, Bank Vontobel AG (Research Firm)]

Yes.

Thank

you.

Good

afternoon.

Also

three

questions.

First

of

all,

on

the

DSOs

or

the

positive

DSO

trend

you have

seen,

can

you

explain

if

that

relates to

the

fact

that

customers

are

willing

to

pay

faster

given

the

constraints

currently

or

is

it

just

basically

mix,

[ph]



or regional (49:20)

mix

related?

And

that

would

be

the

first

question.

The

second

one

is

on

your

conversion

margins,

are

you

planning

at

all

to

provide

any

sort of

midterm

targets

on

future

conversion

margins

and

when

would

you

be

ready

to

do

so?

And

then

finally,

on

the

Road

business,

I

was

wondering

if

you

could

explain

the

profitability

dynamics

in

Road

given

that

[ph]



apparently (49:46)

volumes

were

stronger,

but

profitability

in

the

fourth

quarter

is

down,

can

just

explain

what's

going

on

there?

Thank

you.

[Markus Blanka-Graff]

Sure,

Michael.

So,

let

me

take

the

first

one

on

the

payment

terms.

The

willingness

of

customers

to

pay

early,

I

think

I

would

answer

that

from

what

we

see

is

more

when

customers

need

capacity

and

[ph]



reduce

specific

or

use

dedicated

charters

for

them (50:14),

we

do

have

better

leverage

to

say,

[ph]



while (50:22)

we

have

to

prepay

the

charter,

we

might

ask

for

slightly

reduced

payment

terms

also

from

a

customer's

perspective.

I

think

it's

not

so

much

the

regional

point,

it's

far

more

the

commitment

of

space

dedicated

for

customers

that

gives

us

that

angle

to

at

least

not

slip

on

the

DSOs,

but

keep

them

steady

or

eventually

improve

them

a little

bit.

But

you

have

seen

the

number

is

very

small

of

improvement,

it's

1.2

days.

I

would

be

careful

in

reading

a

big

trend

[ph]



out of

it (50:59).

I

would

call

it

stable

rather

than

[ph]



reduced (51:01).

Second

question

on

the

conversion

margin,

you're

absolutely

right.

We

are

at

a

time

where

a

new

target

needs

to

be

announced.

And

I

can

say

that

in

the

second

half

of

the year,

we

are

planning

a

Capital

Markets

Day

with

the

announcement

of

our

further

strategic

program,

of

course,

which

will

include

also

a

mid-term

target

for

the

conversion

rate.

I don't

want

to

jump

the

gun

here

and

come

out

with

any

numbers,

but

that

is

the

plan.

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

Regarding

Road

Logistics,

Mike,

I'm

not

sure

[ph]



if (51:48) we

are

talking

about

the

same

thing

here.

Road

Logistics

has

seen

a

turnover

growth

of

20%,

14%

gross

profit

increase

and

an

EBIT

improvement

of

50%.

Yes,

we

see

higher

demand

for

drivers

and

higher

costs

to

get

the

drivers.

But

in

total, this

is

a

business

that

performed

solidly

and

we

don't

expect

any

major

changes

in

that

performance

moving

into

2022.

[Michael Foeth, Analyst, Bank Vontobel AG (Research Firm)]

Okay.

Understood.

Thank

you

very

much.

Well

done.

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

You're

welcome.

[Operator]

The

next question

comes

from

the line

of

[indiscernible]

(52:31).

Please

go

ahead.

Good

day,

gentlemen.

First

of

all,

congratulations

on

strong results

and

also

on

your

decision

to

stop

most

of

your

logistics

into

Russia.

Two

questions

from

my

side.

First

of

all,

in

Air

Logistics,

can

you

give

us

an

update

in

relation

to

the

reliability

of

planning

now

logistics

again,

with

the

belly

capacity

of

passenger

airlines

for

intercontinental

flights

and

was –

for

example,

also,

maybe

was

there

also

a step-up

or

an

addition

in

some

air

supply,

helping

to

ease

a

little bit

the

situation

for

2022 now,

especially

[ph]



some (53:11)

cargoes?

And

the

second

question

mostly

to

the

Russian

conflict

with

Ukraine,

how

many,

or

let's

say,

also,

how

meaningful

was

the

share

of

supply

in

Air

Logistics

from

Russian

and

Ukrainian

players

prior

to

the

escalation

of

the

conflict?

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

Thanks

for

your questions,

[ph]



John

Marco

(53:34), and

also

thanks

for

your

kind

feedback.

The

Air

Logistics

planning

reliability

depends

on

intercontinental

passenger

flights.

We

don't

see

a

huge

volume

increase

or

capacity

increase

at

the

moment

on

intercontinental

flights.

Yes,

we

might

see

some

flights

from,

I

don't

know,

Central

Europe

to

Majorca,

but

they

don't

really

help

for

the

demand

that

we

have

on

regular

transports

amongst

the

major

intercontinental

business

centers.

So,

therefore,

I

would

say

our

estimate

has

been

that

the

intercontinental

belly

capacity

or

passenger

capacity

will

not

increase

quarter

one

and

quarter

two

significantly.

And

we

gave,

I

think,

one

or

two quarters

ago

[indiscernible]



(54:27) that

we

should

see

a

major

improvement,

not

really

before

2024.

But

that's

a

bit

of

speculation

from

today's

perspective. Yeah.

From

–

regarding the

Russia

invasion

of

Ukraine

and

the

air

capacity,

it's

a

small

market

for

us.

It's

a

small

market

related

to

mainly

imports,

which

we

stopped,

as

you

know.

And

the

capacity

supply

are

very,

very

small

as

well.

So,

at

the

moment,

it's

more

the

rerouting

across

the

continent

or

this

territory

that

I

mentioned

before

a couple

of times,

more

that

is

causing

delay

and

maybe

a

bit

of

a

capacity

shortage

because

the

planes

are

longer

used

for

one

flight

than,

well –

than

anything

else.

The

main

problem

most

likely

will

be

the

lack

of

Antonovs,

planes

that

you

know,

especially

for

project

[ph]



business (55:34)

which

at

the

moment

also

banned

from

operations.

Many

thanks.

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

Thank

you.

[Operator]

The

next

question comes

from

the

line

of

Nikolas

Mauder with

Kepler

Cheuvreux.

Please

go

ahead.

[Nikolas Mauder, Analyst, Kepler Cheuvreux SA /Germany/]

Good

afternoon.

Thank

you.

One

question

from

my

side

on

the

supply/demand

balance

in

the

logistics

markets,

please.

Assuming

that

consumers

eventually

give

in

on

the

inflationary

pressures,

would

lower

demand

for

transportation

in

general

do

much

to

change

the

current

price

or

yield

environment,

[ph]



or

are (56:13)

current

problems

too

much

rooted

on

the

supply

side,

i.e.

the

terminals,

rail,

et

cetera?

Thank

you.

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

Nikolas,

thanks

for

your

question.

And

you

see

me

smiling.

Exactly

that

is

what

can

be

a

solution.

We

hope

that

is

not

happening,

to

be

honest,

because

we

need

growth

again.

We

are

still

in

parts

of

the

segments

[ph]



and (56:35)

industry

below

the

level

of

2019.

But

less

demand

or

demand

reflecting

on

higher

inflation

rate

for

sure

will

ease

up

the

pressure

on

the

supply

side

of

the

capacity

in

Sea

and

Air

Logistics

and

also

Road

Logistics

especially.

Thank

you.

[Nikolas Mauder, Analyst, Kepler Cheuvreux SA /Germany/]

Yes.

Thank

you.

[Operator]

This

was

the

last question.

Gentlemen,

back

to

you

for

any

closing

remarks.

[Detlef A. Trefzger]

Thank

you,

Alice.

Thank

you,

ladies

and

gentlemen.

Thanks

for

joining

in.

As

you

saw

and

heard,

Kuehne+Nagel

stayed

on

course

in

2021

and

performed

strongly.

Thus

far

in

the

current

year,

the

business

outlook

has

been

quite

favorable

and

positive

while

geopolitical

tensions

and

ongoing

supply

chain

disruptions

generate

a

certain

uncertainty

which

we

commented

on

before.

We

are

looking

forward

to

talking

to

you

again

and

to

take

you

through

the

details of

our

quarter

one

2022

performance

on

April

26

which

is in

eight

weeks.

And

until

then,

stay

healthy,

take

care,

and

talk

to

you

soon

again.

Thanks.

Bye-bye.

[Operator]

Ladies

and

gentlemen,

the

conference

is

now

over.

Thank

you

for

choosing

Chorus

Call

and

thank

you

for

participating

in

the

conference.

You

may

now

disconnect

lines.

Good-bye.