NFC boosts profits and becomes Exel
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• The UK's largest haulier, NEC, is enjoying an upturn in its fortunes following the sale of Allied Pickfords. It now plans to adopt a new company name and appoint a new chairman.
Since the sale in November NEC stock has rocketed by 32% and the share price now stands at £2.82 compared with 95p a year ago. The company will now rename itself Exel to "focus exclusively on development in the global supply chain services market".
NFC chairman Sir Christopher Bland will step down in May; he will be replaced by John Devaney, who was formerly chairman of electricity group Eastern Group. City analyst Raymond Maguire of Warburg Dillon Read describes NFC's recent growth in the US as "staggering" and attributes this to the company's lead in the use of e-commerce in the supply chain.
Maguire adds: "NEC has even managed to increase its margin in the UK, which is known to be the most mature logistics market in the world."
An NEC spokesman says: "The key to our success is that we are continually changing and developing. F-commerce is now a huge part of our business."
Profits for the year ending 30 September rose by 8% to £131.2m before exceptional items were taken into account.