Positive half year results for Wincanton

WINCANTON’S EFULFILMENT sector revenue increased by 19.1% driven primarily by the acquisition of Cygnia (4.1% growth excluding Cygnia). New business from customers including Primark and DEFRA led to a growth of 14.6% and 5.2% in the General Merchandise and Public & Industrial sectors, respectively. Finally, the Grocery & Consumer sector delivered a steady growth of 3.2%, building upon a strong market share position.

Underlying profit before tax increased by 2.6% to £28.0m (H1 21/22: £27.3m), with underlying profit margin of 3.7% (H1 21/22: 4.0%). The Group's performance was impacted by volume reductions in the two-person home delivery, retail transport and construction transport markets. However, a diverse portfolio of customers and new business wins, together with operational efficiencies, have provided protection against these commercial headwinds.

Wincanton chief executive officer James Wroath, commented: “Wincanton has delivered another good performance during the first half of the year in a challenging macro-economic environment. I would particularly like to thank our people, who continue to provide exceptional service to our customers delivering supply chain value every single day.

We continued to win new business and made further progress against our growth strategy. Our exceptional customer service and track record for delivery are the foundations of our business. We are reinforcing this with sustained investment into automation and robotic solutions to meet the growing demand for these technologies, and they are delivering tangible results for our customers. I am very satisfied with the progress we have made in the period and, while mindful of the challenging macro-economic pressures, I remain confident in our strategy.”