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MB sees profits slump 6%
Page 12
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• Logistics giant Tibbett &, Britten saw its operating profits in the UK and Ireland slump by 6% to 114.1m last year, despite an increase in turnover of 9%.
Even harder hit was its European operation, whose operating profits plunged by a whopping 33% despite turnover rising by 14%.
Group turnover was also up by 11% to £1.52bn, although profits dropped by 6%. In the UK and Ireland, turnover of £612.5m was boosted by contributions from a new Tesco distribution centre and its B&Q warehouse at Scunthorpe.
Tibbett chairman John Harvey says that the group made good progress in uncertain trading environments, securing £212m of new business: Our business strategy, built primarily on organic growth, has served us well in our entries and subsequent developments in North America and mainland Europe. This process is now being replicated in China and other international markets."
The Financial Times speculated this week that Tibbett may be interested in buying Hays but Harvey remains tight-lipped on the matter.
Despite a strong overall performance Tibbett, like many companies in the sector, has been hit by a decline in the stock market, with its shares falling from a high of 807p last year; as CM went to press it was trading at 375p, having recovered slightly from a low of 355p.