udget too much for many
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PROFITS of Britain's top 300 road haulage companies have pped so much in the last year that few operators will be able to e with the Budget's increase in dery duty. That is the view of dan and Sons (Surveys) Ltd in a review of the top companies' formance.
he average profitability ratio i-tax profits/sales) of the 20 lest private companies has from 1979's 6.9 per cent to per cent in 1980, while the 20 subsidiaries of larger ups experienced a drop from per cent to 4.5 per cent.
he best performance by a pri3 company was R. Durham I Sons Ltd, of Billingham, ,sside, which returned a profit
o of 12.63 per cent, but at the torn of the top 20, Edinburghed Bruce Lindsay Brothers 's figure was 0.39 per cent. ,mong the subsidiaries, the lres are distorted somewhat British Electric Traction's ted Transport Overseas Ltd's )9 per cent ratio. Fellow BET npany United Transport Co
returned 7.58 per cent, folted by Atlas Express' 7.45 per t. Birmid Qualcast group npany W. & J. Chatwin Ltd of ethwick returned only 0.71 cent.
he survey divided the coun in two, Southern England
Wales, and Northern Engd and Scotland. Best of the Jest southern companies was ited Carriers' 14.14 per cent ile Grampian Holdings sub
sidiary W. H. Malcolm Ltd, of Renfrewshire returned 11.48 per cent and came top of the large northern companies.
The gap in profitability between northern and southern companies has narrowed in the northern companies' favour, and the best profit ratio recorded by any company (regardless of its size) was the Dundee, Perth, and London Shipping Company's 24.2 per cent.
West Cumberland By-Products came next with 22.14 per cent, and Willenhall, West Midlands-based J. Brevitt Ltd came third with 22.05 per cent.
The best increase in turnover was Peterborough Heavy Haulage Ltd's 145.49 per cent jump to E1 .4m, while Camberley, Surrey-based Coff Holdings recorded the biggest drop, by 84.92 per cent to e580,000.
The largest pre-tax profits are Transport Development Group's £22.2m, United Transport's C18.6m, and United Transport Overseas Ltd's £16m, but the highest operating company profit is National Carriers' £4.9m, followed by United Carriers' £3.9m.