NFC surges on
Page 74
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Profits of the employeeowned National Freight Consortium rose for the fifth successive year in the 12 months to October 4 last year, with a 12% rise in turnover, from 2666.9 million to 2747.6 Chairman Sir Peter Thompson says: "Last year was a good year for us. We feel the concepts we hold near and dear about employee involvement are proving a commercial success."
All the businesses within the NFC, with the exception of National Carriers Roadline, recorded profits. The largest profit was earned by BRS Group, which made 214.3 million (211.5 million), despite the transfer of 240 million of its business to the NFC Distribution Group at the start of the year, and the absorption into the group of the loss-making Fleetcare division. During the year, BRS Group's truck rental fleet grew by 13%.
Managing Director Geoff Pygall says the phasing out of capital allowances by Chancellor Nigel Lawson helped boost BRS Group profits last year, and he is confident that the growth will be maintained during the coming year.
NFC's Distribution Group enjoyed a 130% rise in profits, but last year was its first full year of trading. Turnover reached 288.4 million and trading profit rose to 24.6 million.
According to the NFC Distribution Group's managing director Ron Irons, the group had a "pretty successful year" within a changing market.
The group secured new contracts with Whitbread and Scottish and Newcastle worth around 210 million and opened another dedicated warehouse for Sainsbury.
Irons sees a period of consolidation ahead, with the group adding a further 27,870m2 of warehousing space in 1987. It will shortly start to operate two new fiveyear distribution contracts, carrying household-name products, worth some 25 million. Turnover is expected to rise to 2170 million in 1987.
The Special Services Group, which includes Tankfreight, National Carriers Contract Services, Fashionflow, NFC Forwarding and Freight Computer Services, enjoyed a 5% rise in profits to 28.8 million, on turnover of 2158.3 million.
Pickfords Removals, the country's largest removals company, also advanced, with a 26% rise in profits from 24.2 million to 26.4 million. Even the loss-making parcels division, National Carriers Roadline, saw an improvement in trading performance with losses down from 28.7 million in 1984/5 to 22.6 million last year. Sir Peter Thompson says he is confident the new management team at National Carriers Roadline will maintain that improvement in performance this year.
The only NFC company to report worsening performance last year was the Regional Group, where the economic climate in Scotland was blamed for severe operating difficulties at Scottish Road Services. Other Regional Group companies fared better, with Northern Ireland-based NIC and Scottish Parcels both exceeding budgeted trading profits. Overall, however, the Regional Group saw its trading profit drop from 21.2 million in 1984/5 to 2300,000 in 1985/6.
The continued profits growth at NFC has taken the 21.00 shares issued by the company when it was denationalised in 1982 to a value of 235. Employees who bought an original minimum allocation of 2200 of shares in 1982 now have holdings worth a total of 27,000 each.
For the first time this year the NFC will operate a profit sharing scheme. Under the terms of the scheme, 22.5 million of pre-tax profits from the financial year 1985/6 have been set aside for sharing among the NFC workforce as shares. NFC directors are optimistic that the scheme will boost share ownership by the workforce from its current level of around 70%, to 100%.