Yodel: We have made a very strong start to the FY21 financial year

Yodel has released a comprehensive trading update outlining the business’s recent growth. Full year revenue projections have been upgraded to be over £535 million with strong PBT profits forecast for the full year to June 2021.

Financial highlights

• Overall increase in volumes in Q2 FY21 (October–December 2020) of 34% compared to Q2 of FY20
• Total volumes in the six months to December 2020 (H1 FY21) have grown by 26% compared to H1 FY20
• Full-year FY21 (year ending June 2021) revenue projected to be over £535m, up from the £500m-£520m guidance in the October update
• Yodel will now be strongly profitable at the Profit before Taxation (PBT) level in the year to June 2021

Strategic and operational highlights

• More than 3,000 new roles were created for the recent November–December 2020 peak trading season
• Trustpilot rating has improved to 4.5/5, re-enforcing the continuous year on year improvement and highlighting strong customer satisfaction
• The resilience of the business model has again shown its strength when faced with ever-changing customer behaviours. With unprecedented peak trading levels, the business has proven resilient and flexible, maintaining full operational capacity throughout the surge in demand and the challenges of COVID-19
• New business with Lush, Pandora, JD Sports, Dunelm, Hello Fresh, Beer 52, Limar trading, Kingstown associates, Pasta Evangelists, and Borough Box, together with renewed contracts with existing clients, demonstrate the value of the Yodel proposition
• A two-year pay deal has been agreed with unions at Yodel creating certainty for all parties.
• Yodel has the intention to re-pay the full amount paid through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Mike Hancox, CEO of Yodel, commented: “We have made a very strong start to the FY21 financial year, which continues the significant progress made over the past couple of years. During what has been an extremely challenging period for many people, we’re proud that we’ve been able to play a vital role in keeping the country moving.

Thanks to the tireless work of our colleagues up and down the country, together with the adaptability of our network, our performance has again improved beyond expectations and we fully expect to deliver a strong PBT result in FY21.

Technology has played a key role in supporting our colleagues to be able to perform so well. We have launched a new driver app that will improve efficiency and lead to an improved final mile experience for our customers.

Our existing client base continues to grow strongly, and we have a robust pipeline of new business for the rest of FY21 and beyond. We’ve also grown the volumes of our key ‘everyday premium’ sectors such as fresh food, wine and flowers.

The health and safety of our colleagues and the public has been a key priority for us as a business, and we’ve continued to ensure that our sites are COVID-19 safe, as well as carrying on with the ‘contactless deliveries’ that we introduced at the start of the pandemic.”