Yodel’s annual loss increased by nearly half, its latest financial accounts reveal, despite a change in senior management and the firm’s extensive remodelling of its network.
Loss on ordinary activities before taxation for the year ended 30 June 2013 increased 46% to £98.2m (2011/12: £66.9m). Turnover fell 28% to £389m in the same period (£539.9m). In recent years, Yodel operated a capacity cap during the Christmas peak, turning away some seasonal ad hoc work, to ensure service standards were maintained.
This year’s loss is better than its first full year of trading after the merger of HDNL and DHL Express UK’s domestic business in 2010, when its loss on ordinary activities before tax was £131.8m, on a turnover of £725m.
However, executive chairman Dick Stead said winning new business due to its strong performance over two consecutive Christmas peaks and improving customer service has helped improve its financial position this year. “We are pleased to report that we are on track to finish our year in June with an improved position that forms a strong base for profitable trading in the future. Over the past couple of years, we have restructured our business, making considerable investments to improve service levels and proposition for clients,” he said.
“Our successful Christmas peak in 2012 and 2013 demonstrated that we have a stable and sustainable platform for growth, which has enabled us to win a substantial amount of business.”
