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Profits climb despite heavy investment
Page 12
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BUSINESS POST'S first-half profits have been hit by investment in its UK Pallets division — the hub's capacity has been doubled to 8.000 pallets a day.
Despite this, pre-tax profits rose 10% to £8.8m in the six months to 30 September; turnover rose by 23% to £109m compared with the same period in 2003.
Following its acquisition of Weaver Pallet Express last year — now rebranded as UK Pallets — Business Post has completed a major re-livery programme of its vehicles.
Post's chief executive Paul Carvell dismisses warnings that growth in palletised freight will slow down. He predicts that the market will mature in three to four years and describes it as "efficient but unsophisticated" in that its systems still lag some way behind those of the parcels industry (CM 10 June).
Business Post chairman Peter Kane adds that despite a competitive market for express deliveries, first-half turnover in its core business-to-business parcels service rose 6% to £65.2m.
"The group's strong financial performance and excellent cash flow characteristics place it in a good position to continue investing in new products and services and create further differentiation from its competitors," he adds.
"Trading since 30 September has been encouraging."