Rhys Davies boost profit by nearly 60%

Transport and logistics firm Rhys Davies & Sons marked its sixtieth anniversary last year with a 58% rise in profit, the firm’s latest annual results statement has revealed.

The Cardiff-based haulier, which runs 170 trucks and has nine sites around the UK, reported profits before tax of just over £1m for the year to 31 August 2012. This compared with profit of £668,000 the previous year.

Turnover in the year to 31 August 2012 rose just under 6% from £35.8m to £37.8m.

Announcing the results, the firm’s directors said the rise in profits had been achieved through a mixture of volume growth and operating efficiencies, combined with its continuing focus on several specialist areas, including carpet distribution.

Back on track

The latest results put Rhys Davies firmly back on track after a 5.7% fall in profits before tax in the 12 months to 31 August 2011, despite a 2.8% rise in turnover that year – something it put down at the time to a combination of adverse weather conditions in the winter in 2010 and “aggressive” competition in the transport sector.

Trading conditions had remained tough during the whole of the latest financial year, said the firm. “It’s fair to say the uncertainty and challenges which have accompanied recent years have been particularly acute and have continued unabated,” stated the directors’ report.

“It is the board’s view that true recovery will take many more years,” it continued. “Clearly, there remains a systematic risk of further losses in the financial sector which could easily spill over in to the real economy and tighten trading conditions still further.”

Competition levels, in particular, appear to remain a key concern. “There has been no abatement of competition within the sector in the last year and with GDP growth in short supply, such competitive pressures have only intensified,” it stated.

“Much of the industry see margins, pricing and the commoditisation of the services it provides as the greatest challenges facing the sector.”