Yesterday XPO Logistics reported to investors in the US its Q2 results that, for the first time, included 22 days of contribution from Norbert Dentressangle. There’s not much, but enough, in these 22 days to give us hints of what is precisely happening at the former ND.
CEO Bradley Jacobs said that in Q2 XPO more than doubled its revenue compared to Q2 2014 (to $1.2bn), and increased adjusted EBITDA more than five-fold to $79.7m. These results included just 22 days of the ND acquisition and one month of [US drayage specialist] Bridge Terminal Transport which it also acquired in the period.
"The integration of ND is exceeding expectations, and the rebranding to XPO Logistics is moving along quickly. We've already begun to realize synergies between our operations. Next month, for example, we'll open a contract logistics facility in Pennsylvania to support a Spain-based retailer in expanding its US footprint.
“Our European operations have served this customer for years - now it's an important new relationship for us in North America as well. And with last mile, our customers have been asking us to bring this expertise to Europe," added Jacobs.
The scope of XPO’s ambition is staggering too.
Firstly, the company has a $1.2bn (£769.1m) cash balance, as of 31 July.
Secondly – it is targeting global revenues of $23bn, and EBITDA of $1.5bn by 2019.
On this, Jacobs said: “We're in a strong position to act on acquisition opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic, with more than $1.2bn in cash, an untapped ABL [asset-based lending] facility, and a highly integrated global platform. Our new trajectory puts us on track to nearly triple the size of our company in four years.”
XPO has already said that this growth will come through acquisitions in Europe, but what is curious is that XPO believes that it can win more business as a full outsource. In layman’s terms – that means converting own-account business to third party business. On some very rough maths, The Hub estimates that about 47% of the UK’s largest fleets are own-account fleets – that’s a lot of opportunity for the other 53%.