Clipper Logistics increased revenue by 15 per cent to £460.2 million in the year to 30th April, as a result of contract wins growth with existing customers in e-fulfilment and returns management.
Operating profit was flat at £20.2 million. The company had already warned that contracts entered into the latter part of the year to 30 April 2019 will be accounted for as a business combination in FY20 and will enhance FY20 earnings by £3.0m.
New contracts included: boohoo.com subsidiary PrettyLittleThing, Ginger Ray, Levi Strauss, Vestel, the Mountain Warehouse brand Neon Sheep, Tech Data and Sports Direct in the UK, and Mountain Warehouse in Poland.
There was also significant growth existing customers including Asda, Browns, Morrisons, Halfords, New Look, Wilko and ASOS in the UK, and Westwing and s.Oliver in Europe.
Clipper is currently trialling a goods-to-person robotic solution for Superdry at its Burton warehouse.
It has also been taking advantage of Brexit-related opportunities by extending its service offerings in warehousing and labelling to certain customers, particularly those engaged in tobacco-related activities.
Chairman Steve Parkin said: “The Group continues to focus on developing innovative, cost-effective solutions that address the needs of our blue-chip client base, predominantly in the retail sector. We continue to invest in quality people to implement sector leading projects, and this, together with our ability to identify key trends and developments in the sectors we serve, means that we are confident in our ability to continue this momentum.”
“We are conscious of the challenging market conditions facing UK retailers and the macroeconomic uncertainty within the UK economy; this may well have some impact in the year ahead, but we remain confident in our ability to continue the momentum in the business and are well-positioned to continue to deliver strong returns to our shareholders.”
