TIBBETT & BRITTEN BUYS MEXICAN GROUP

BY Abigail Townsend LOGISTICS group Tibbett & Britten yesterday upped its international coverage after expanding into Mexico and Thailand. Tibbett has agreed to buy the Dimalsa group of companies, one of Mexico’s largest logistics providers, under a cash and debt deal worth (pounds) 44.2m. Dimalsa’s customers include Danone, Gillette, Kelloggs, Pepsico and retail giant Wal-Mart. The business employs more than 2300 people, all of whom are transferring to Tibbett, and the group has signed a contract with Procter & Gamble to set up and manage three distribution centres in Mexico on the back of the deal. John Harvey, chairman, said the acquisition would strengthen Tibbett’s position in the North American market and bolster relationships with a number of major customers. And as well as its Central American expansion, Tibbett, which generates 60% of its revenues abroad, is spending (pounds) 3.1m moving into Thailand by buying a 38% stake in logistics firm Davids Distribution Thailand. Details of the deals came as Tibbett posted final figures for the year to the December 31. Group turnover slipped from (pounds) 1.47bn to (pounds) 1.43bn, but based on continuing operations it rose from (pounds) 1.34bn to (pounds) 1.41bn. Operating profits from continuing operations were also ahead, up from (pounds) 26.3m to (pounds) 26.9m. However, a number of one-off costs, including those associated with the sale of its automotive distribution arm Axial, meant Tibbett posted pre-tax losses of (pounds) 6.1m against pre-tax profits in the previous year of (pounds) 33.4m. Tibbett said that the events of September 11 and the recession in the US had “minimal consequential impact” on its activities. – Reuters.