Confident Dentressangle upgrades forecasts
In the first half of 2003 Norbert Dentressangle, the French transport and logistics company, continued to perform well in a difficult trading environment. The company released its interim results which showed that revenues grew by 14.6% compared with the same period in 2002 from €521m to €597m. Organic sales, excluding that of its recent acquisition Stockalliance, increased by 7%. Profits rose only slightly from €20.4m to €20.4m largely as a result of the costs of the integration of French logistics company Stockalliance.
Although Norbert Dentressangle’s transport sales grew steadily by 4% and operating profit by 3%, the main driver behind the increase in the company’s revenues was the expansion of its logistics operations. The figures included two major acquisitions in the past 12 months, Stockalliance and Italian operator Cidem. Apart from the costs involved in the integration of the acquisitions management stated that profitability throughout the rest of its operations was improving. Logistics revenues now account for 38% of the company’s total.
The French transport and logistics market has proved to be highly challenging for many companies over the past two years. Although Norbert Dentressangle is highly exposed to its home market, which was responsible for just under 80% of its revenues, it has been able to cope with the environment better than many of its competitors. Its management has upgraded its revenue and profit figures for the full year and expects sales to grow by at least 15%.
