Hermes reports 7% revenue growth
The Hermes Group has reported that its revenues grew by more than 7% to €2.640bn in the financial year 2016. The group’s European parcel companies played a big role in this growth, they carried about 640m parcels to private customers, up 10% on 2015..
The two-man handling unit, meanwhile, saw its volumes grow by more than 6%.
Hermes said that the integration of the French parcel shippers Mondial Relay and the acquisition last year of two-man handling specialist Girard Agediss improved the group’s competitive position in key European markets.
“We are delighted we closed 2016 on a positive note. This has once again helped us consolidate our strong position in a highly dynamic and – in many respects – challenging market. As the logistics and service partner for many successful online shops and multichannel retailers at home and abroad, Hermes is continuing to participate in the ongoing boom in global online retailing,” said Donald Pilz, CEO of Hermes Europe GmbH.
“With an eye on further growth potential, in 2017 we will be continuing the on-going modernisation and expansion of our logistics infrastructure and investing in new technologies. On top of this, we are expanding in new customer-centric services and are targeting the expansion of our successful commitment in promising business segments such as parcel and 2-man handling, not least through the integration of French activities.”
Hermes added that it is preparing to continue its infrastructure developments in Germany across the whole 2C parcel market (B2C and C2C). Three new Hermes Logistics Centres will be opened in Bad Rappenau, Mainz and Berlin in the course of 2017. These were earmarked in 2014 and planned as part of a 300 million euro investment programme. By the end of 2019, a total of nine state-of-the-art logistics centres are to be build, all designed in line with strict environmental protection guidelines. These new Hermes Germany sites will ensure that the steady growth in consignment volumes can be efficiently processed in the future, that clients can inject volumes into the Hermes system much later and that deliveries can be made much quicker thanks to shorter feed times.
Hermes said it is also investing in modernising and electrifying its fleet of vehicles and has agreed a comprehensive strategic partnership with Mercedes-Benz. This year, the Group is looking to push ahead with the deployment of EURO-6 delivery vans, including them in its own fleets and those of its contracting partners. From 2018, Hermes companies are looking to test the deployment of electric vehicles in operations, initially in Stuttgart and Hamburg. And by 2020, Hermes Germany is aiming to deploy 1,500 Mercedes-Benz Vito and Sprinter vehicles in conurbation areas around the whole country.
