Third-party logistics (3PL) company Wincanton this morning [22 May] published its financial results for the year ending 31 March 2023. Despite a 2.9% (£40.6 million) increase in revenue from 2022 to 2023, profits dropped by 30%.
Wincanton made £38.2m in profit (before tax) in the last financial year, down from £54.8m the previous year. Meanwhile, its revenue rose from £1.42bn to £1.46bn.
James Wroath, Chief Executive of Wincanton, said: “Our strategy delivered a strong result in FY23 despite the prevailing macroeconomic challenges, particularly with regard to retail volumes and inflation […] we expect volumes to remain under pressure into FY24 due to the macroeconomic environment.”
In March, Logistics Manager reported that Wincanton lost its contract with HMRC, causing share prices to plummet. A statement from the company today addressed this, saying: “Whilst the loss of the HMRC contract was disappointing, we still believe that Wincanton has an important role to play as a partner to government for supply chain services. We see a significant number of opportunities both from direct and indirect government spending (such as defence and major infrastructure) and believe that we maintain a good reputation for delivery.”
Wincanton did, however, gain a significant number of new contracts in what it describes as “major wins”. These include deals with Waitrose, Halfords, and Wickes. Renewals of existing contracts, like the extension with Neals Yard Remedies, also contributed to the group’s profits.
The sector of the business that saw the greatest growth in revenue from 2022 to 2023 was e-fulfilment, rising by 7.6% from £223m to £254m. The group attributes this in part to the doubling of its business with both IKEA and Wickes as well as new business secured with The White Company, which is set to move into Wincanton’s automated facility, The WEB, in Rockingham later this year.
Looking to the future, Wroath explained: “We continue to invest in technology as the route to deliver competitive advantage in the industry. Significant opportunities remain for warehouse automation across our group, both in the foundation sectors and strategic growth markets.”
“Furthermore, our transport operations have had a shift in focus with technology at the heart of our new market proposition.”
The company has said that it expects the macroeconomic environment to remain challenging, particularly regarding consumer spending, and as such is “highly focused on short term delivery”.
Logistics Manager contacted Wincanton for further comment but it had nothing more to add at this time.
