(Alliance News) - Wincanton PLC on Monday reported a fall in annual profit due to a challenging external environment and one-off costs, though revenue increased.
The Wiltshire, England-based logistics firm said pretax profit for the year ended March 31 dropped by 30% to GBP38.2 million from GBP54.8 million the year prior.
Wincanton reported non-underlying items of GBP23.9 million, rising markedly from GBP3.3 million. This was largely down to GBP19.5 million worth of costs stemming from the restructure and impairment of transport related assets. No such costs were recorded in the prior year.
"The group has recorded an impairment of GBP19.1 million relating to both right-of-use assets and computer software used primarily around closed book contracts," the company explained.
Underlying pretax rose by 5.9% to GBP62.1 million from GBP58.1 million the year prior.
Wincanton's revenue rose by 2.8% to GBP1.46 billion from GBP1.42 billion the year prior.
"This is a strong achievement against a challenging economic environment and in particular compares to the prior year that saw strong volumes across our grocery and consumer sector," the company said.
Wincanton recommended a final dividend of 8.8 pence per share, a 10% increase from 8 pence the year before. This brought the full-year payout to 13.2 pence, up 10% from 12 pence.
Looking forward, Wincanton expects that results for the new financial year will be in line with expectations, with volumes expected to remain under pressure in the coming year due to a difficult macro-economic environment.
The board is confident in the company's long-term growth strategy and its highly cash-generative business model.
Chief Executive Officer James Wroath said: "Our strategy delivered a strong result in FY23 despite the prevailing macro-economic challenges, particularly with regard to retail volumes and inflation."
"Significant opportunities remain for warehouse automation across our group, both in the foundation sectors and strategic growth markets."
Wincanton shares rose by 4.2% to 226.00 pence each in London on Monday morning.
By Will Neill, Alliance News reporter
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