Pollock (Scotrans) made a loss in 2015 after the collapse of paper maker Tullis Russell and ongoing integration of 2014 acquisition Gilbraith (TS) made for a “challenging year”.

The Scottish firm saw its pre-tax profit fall 60% for the year ended 29 August 2015, to -£123,354 (2014: £306,021).

The period saw the collapse of client Tullis Russell, which owed Pollock a total of £158,434 when it went into administration in 2015.

Pollock operations director Mark Jackson said Pollock’s work for the Fife-based company, which included transporting pulp from ports to its mill, had been a “big, 24/7 operation” and that the company had had to let drivers go in the wake of the collapse.

Jackson said: “We were probably back where we needed to be a few months later, in terms of re-engaging drivers, but at the time we just needed to very quickly cut the cloth accordingly.”

Jackson added that another reason for the loss-making year was its ongoing integration with fellow Palletways member Gilbraith (TS), which it acquired in 2014.

He said: "It’s all going well, but we’re actively involved in putting more equipment in now and developing the general haulage side.

“They also have a rail terminal, so we’re looking to see if we can develop that as well. We’re in conversation with one or two other businesses that might have an interest in using that.”

However, despite the above and “very, very fine margins,” the company saw its turnover grow by 15% over the course of the year to £31m (2014: £27m).

Jackson said that Pollock is back on track to turn a profit in the current financial year, and added that it was looking at new acquisitions after the success of Gilbraith.

He told Motortransport.co.uk: “It’s been a challenging year. We’ve come through it and more importantly this year everything is back on track. We’re ahead of budget and on track to turn a profit next year.

“We’re back on the acquisition trail and seriously looking at the market place at the moment to further expand the group. We’d like a company similar to Gilbraith; smaller than Pollock but well-established, with a mix of mainly general haulage, maybe some distribution and even some storage.”

The closure of Tullis Russell also saw DSV Road take a turnover hit earlier this year.

Topics