DANISH logistics colossus DSV reported what it said were a “solid” set of results despite soft market conditions for the first half of 2023.

The company’s gross profit was down 14.2% and EBIT before special items was down 31.6% compared with last year’s extraordinary results.

DSV CEO Jens Bjørn Andersen said the second quarter of 2023 saw a “solid set of results across all three divisions and a strong cash flow”.

“The demand for transport and logistics services is soft, and during the first half of 2023 we have demonstrated our ability to adapt to changing market conditions,” he said.

“The market development outlook is still uncertain, but we see signs of stabilisation and we anticipate gradual improvement in global trade volumes over the next quarters.”

The company upgraded its outlook for the full year for its EBIT to be in the range of DKK 17,000-18,500 million ($3.73 billion-$4 billion). The company’s outlook for its EBIT was previously DKK 16,000 million-18,000 million ($3.5 billion-$3.95 billion).

The upgrade is based on DSV’s performance in H1 2023 and the assumption of a gradual improvement in global trade volumes in H2 2023. As the global logistics market continues to normalise, we expect a further decline in gross profit yields for air and sea compared to the H1 2023 levels.

DSV’s air and sea division’s EBIT decreased by 35.7% for the first half of 2023, impacted by lower freight volumes and rates, compared with the same period last year.