Eddie Stobart Logistics reveals £200m pre-tax loss as staff demand reassurances

Interim results for Eddie Stobart Logistics (ESL) show that the troubled firm made a loss before tax of £199.8m in the six months ending 31 May 2019.

The consolidated results had been delayed following an announcement by the company in August 2019 that work was being undertaken “to clarify the impact of certain accounting-related items”.

The results show that although ESL increased revenues by 26% to £421.3m compared with the six months ending 31 May 2018, profits slipped deeper into the red from 2018’s £15.1m pre-tax loss.

The company said the increase in revenue represented a 6.4% growth in the underlying business and a strong first-half contribution by The Pallet Network.

Restoration in the trading of the company’s shares began this week.

In December 2019, ESL was saved from administration after its shareholders voted to accept a £75m takeover bid by private equity firm DBAY Advisors backed by William Stobart.

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In a business update, ESL said: “The Eddie Stobart group has new leadership with extensive experience of the logistics sector; William Stobart is now executive chairman of the Eddie Stobart group and there is a new board of directors at [holding company] GWSA.

“The directors of the company are committed to working with DBAY and the Eddie Stobart group in the interests of the shareholders of the company.”

However, the Unite union, which represents hundreds of members at ESL, said it was still seeking reassurances about the company’s future following the DBAY takeover.

Adrian Jones, Unite national officer, said: “It is almost three months since DBAY took control of Eddie Stobart and the company has still not offered a meeting to provide reassurances to the workforce about its future.

“Our members are becoming increasingly unsettled and unsure about their future due to the failure of such a meeting to be held, where Stobart’s plans can be properly discussed.

“Following the publication of the latest half-yearly results. which highlight significant losses at the company, those concerns have naturally increased.”