Eddie Stobart Logistics has seen its group turnover surge by more than a third thanks to a shopping spree that has seen it buy iForce, half of Speedy Freight and The Pallet Network (TPN).
In a trading update issued today for the financial year ended 30 November 2018, Eddie Stobart Logistics revealed turnover had increased 35% to approximately £843m (2017: £623.9m).
Even if the uplift from the acquisitions is stripped out, annual growth at the operator was 18% year-on-year.
“This reflects significant and broad-based growth across all our sectors with £162m of new contract wins during the year, organic growth within the existing customer base and continuing strong performance by our acquired subsidiaries,” the company said in a statement.
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It added that TPN, which was purchased on 29 June 2018, had made a notable contribution to its strategy of building a more resilient network and has traded in line with expectations.
Eddie Stobart Logistics’ net debt was approximately £154m (2017: £109.5m) at the end of the period, which it said was due to the working capital investment required to support an increase in sales and the debt associated with the purchase of TPN.
It added that margins had improved in the second half of the financial year and were expected to continue to do so in 2019.
The group's audited results for the year ended 30 November 2018 will be released on 28 March.
