Nippon Express executives take pay cut as Q1 earnings tumble

Nippon Express executives will take a 10% pay cut following its lowest quarterly earnings in four years over its April-June fiscal quarter, the Japanese freight forwarder has reported.

The company said the coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on its financial performance and its executives would take a 10% cut to their monthly salary until the fiscal year ends in March 2021 "to introduce a greater sense of urgency to business management."

Nippon Express reported earnings of Yen 472 billion ($4.45 billion) for the first quarter of fiscal 2021, ending in March, down from Yen 518 billion for the same quarter last year and the lowest first-quarter level since fiscal year 2017.

Marine exports were among the hardest hit segments, falling by 30.4% year on year in June. Overall Japanese exports fell by 15% in the first half of the year from the same period in 2019 amid weak overseas demand for autos and other industrial goods.

The Platts Container Index, a weighted average of the Platts' container rate assessments, was assessed at $1,342.44/FEU on Aug. 3, up 18% from the start of the year.