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Wincanton nets E8m
Page 9
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SHIPPING GIANT P&O has finally settled its differences with logistics firm Wincanton over the sale of P&O's TransEuropean transport division in 2002.
P& 0 has agreed to pay Wincanton almost am in final settlement; the figure is revealed in Wincanton's latest half-year results.
Chief executive Paul Bateman declined to elaborate on the reason for the payment but says: "At the time of the deal there were always going to be outstanding issues which took time to resolve. That process has been completed with the payment to us of £7.8m. It's final settlement of the deal."
Its results show that in the halfyear ending on 30 September its adjusted profits were up 8.6% on the previous year, despite a fall in turnover of around Elm.
It has made particular progress in its Continental Europe division, where profits rose by 77%, albeit from a low starting point. Bateman adds: "The business we acquired [TransEuropeanj had one or two contracts that were loss-making and we said at the time that we'd review those. Over the course of the past 18 months or so we have been rationalising those and replacing them with profitable contracts and we have moved Continental business from loss to profit."
He adds that Wincanton sees Eastern Europe as an area of particular growth: "Without any doubt we are a significant player there, winning new business not just in one country but in clusters of countries.
"There is a sense that customers arc looking for logistics providers who can do things on a regional or pan-European basis."
Exceptional items of £5.2m are attributed to the closure of two depots in France and Germany and the initial cost of relocating its UK head office.