Freightways 1st-quarter profit rises 7 percent , affirms growth expected in full year

Thursday 31st October 2013 1 Comment

Freightways, New Zealand's largest listed courier and data management company, said earnings grew 7 percent in its first quarter, driven by increased sales from express packages, putting it on track for full-year profit growth.

Profit rose to $9.79 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, from $9.19 million a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement made in conjunction with its annual shareholders' meeting. Sales climbed 4 percent to $104.69 million.

"Our overall first-quarter performance is positive and, while still early in the financial year, it underpins our expectation of a full-year result ahead of the prior year," managing director Dean Bracewell said. Earnings growth would be helped by the expected contribution from newly-acquired information management businesses.

Recent acquisitions are the business and assets of Brisbane-based Document & Data Storage Management and Dunedin-based Document Destruction Services, effective Oct. 1, for a total cost of about $4.5 million. They are expected to contribute earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $800,000 in the first full 12 months after integration.

Sales at the company's express package and business mail division rose 5 percent to $80 million and EBITDA rose 2 percent to $13.5 million. That reflected market share gains and increased demand from existing customers of its retail businesses.

Its DX Mail business recorded a year-on-year decline, reflecting the changing business mix, with a pickup from its Dataprint mailhouse and street delivery volumes not yet enough to offset a slide in 'box-to-box' letter volumes and lower international package volumes, the company said.

Information management recorded revenue of $25 million, unchanged from a year earlier, while EBITDA rose 1 percent to $5.9 million, with results partly reflecting the impact of bringing Australian revenue home into a stronger New Zealand dollar.

The shares were unchanged at $4.30 and have edged up 1.2 percent this year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

Comments from our readers

On 31 October 2013 at 6:42 pm Don said:

Good company making good incremental gains & sound acquisitions that are accretive to profits, well managed