IT WILL COME AS d SHCiCK to the average haulier
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to discover that there are transport companies out there which are making pre-tax profits of up to 804. But according to market research company Plimsoll Publishing. this Is the case.
Its study of published accounts reveals that, right up thereat number three, is a well-known name in road transport, Norbert Dentressangle. with a profit margin of 56.6110, How on earth does the French giant make such fat profits?
The answer is that it doesn't. Look closer and you'll see that it is Norbert Dentressangle Holdings that clocks up nearly 6C140 profits. It's a holding company, handling only internal invoices from its various operating divisions. Individual figures for the separate divisions, including haulage, are not available.
There are certainly some haulage firms in specialised sectors making double-figure profits, but they are in a tiny minority. David Patterson, research manager at Plimsoll comments: 'We find—and haulage is no exception—that there is a gulf between the haves and the have-nets and the figures fluctuate wildly. It is very difficult to sustain high profits, but it's also difficult to sustain a loss: you either start making money or you go out of business.
"I find It shocking to realise that at any one time a quarter of businesses in the UK are making alms," he adds. And, although Plimsoll estimates that the average net profit in haulage is 2.8°,41, he admits that such averages are meaningless. The number of firms making 2.8% is probably very small.
More important is longterm performance. "If you've turned in a profit every year, then a slight dip one year isn't going to finish you off," says Patterson, "But If you've always sailed close to the wind, a -Ip increase in casts could spell disaster"