Parcels better
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THE WORST MAY be over for the National Freight Consorti um's parcels group whose outstanding wages impasse has ended.
Parcels group figures are not specified in the first 25 weeks' NFC trading figures to March 24, which show profit after interest and tax up from £3.6m in the same period last year to £5m, but it is understood that they continued to be the heavy loss maker in an otherwise largely profitable group.
However, it also appears that there have been signs of improvement since March, with better results from the two main parcels companies, Roadline UK and National Carriers Parcels.
This comes at the same time as Transport and General Workers Union members at Roadline "very begrudgingly acquiesced" to accept the company's two-stage wage increase of 3.25 per cent from January 1 and 4.5 per cent from October 1, after imposing a go-slow earlier in the year.
TGWU officer John Moore told CM that although a majority
of members had voted to accept the offer, the first stage of which was imposed by the company, they had done so reluctantly and would bear it in mind when next year's wage round approaches.
NFC's overall figures point to business growing faster than inflation, with turnover up in the first 24 weeks from £257m last year to £289m.
There also appears to be much less dependence on the profits earned from the disposal of surplus property, these having fallen from £5.9m to £1.8m at the same time as trading profits have climbed.
NFC 50p shares have been revalued at £1.50 by chartered accountants Ernst and Whinney, and will be bought and sold at that price on the next shares dealing day, June 8. This means that an original £1 shareholding in NFC is now worth £6.
• NFC could be at the receiving end of the National Union of Seamen's industrial action to try to stop the Government from selling Sealink, British Rail's ferry line, to the private sector.
Initially, the NUS was holding a 48-hour strike of all British ferry crews this week, but further action is being considered against companies prepared to buy Sealink.
One of these is NFC, which is part of a front running consortium in the race to buy the ferry line.