Record year for Freightways despite floods and earthquakes
New Zealand express mail and package company Freightways has achieved a 7% growth in profits despite difficult economic conditions and reduced activity resulting from flooding and earthquake disruption. Issuing its results for the full year up to June 30, 2011, the company recorded a record turnover of $353m, up $24m (7%) on the previous year.
Net profit after tax was $31m – also 7% up on the previous year.
The company’s managing director, Dean Bracewell, said several Freightways divisions were affected by this year’s earthquakes in Christchurch, and in the floods in Queensland, though no staff were seriously injured.
He said thanks to the “tremendous service ethic” among staff, service disruption was kept to a minimum in the wake of the disasters.
Freightways took a $1.1m hit in rebuilding its operations in Christchurch.
Almost 80% of Freightways’ group revenue comes from its express package and business mail division, which operates through brands including New Zealand Couriers, Post Haste Couriers, Castle Parcels, Kiwi Express and DX Mail.
Operating revenue in express and business mail was up 5% to $278m for the year.
The business was hit hard by the February earthquake in Christchurch, but in the last few months of the fiscal year has seen business volumes recovering, with double-digit growth seen in the second quarter returning in the fourth quarter of the year for Freightways.
Focus
Management has been focused on broadening services while improving service quality and keeping costs down, the company said.
Bracewell said: “During the year, a small postal service provider was acquired, parcel products were marketed for the first time through national regail chains, growth in newly-established international services outpaced domestic growth and the brands of ‘Pass the Parcel’ and ‘Stuck’, established in 2010, continued to gain increasing market support.”
Freightway saw double-digit growth in its information management division, which provides 20% of group revenue through its data security services and confidential paper shredding operations in both New Zealand and Australia.
The company is expecting its performances to improve further in its 2012 fiscal year with a renegotiated financing and capital investment of $17m, which will include a $4m refurbishment of a depot in Auckland as its NOW Couriers serivce is relocated.
In recent years, Freightways has diversidied its activities both geographically and deeper into the information management market, and aims to continue this strategy.
Bracewell said: “We will continue to seek and develop growth opportunities to support this strategy and also explore other opportunities that complement our core capabilities.”
