Yodel has made its sixth pre-tax loss in a row, two years after it failed to hit its self set target of turning its first profit.
The carrier blamed unexpected parcel volumes over Black Friday weekend in 2014 for the loss in the year ended 30 June 2015, which it said drove “significant operational stress and cost over-runs”. Yodel said it saw a 14.5% increase in parcel volumes over the year.
According to results filed at Companies House, the group made a pre-tax loss of £50m; a 30% reduction on the £75m it lost in 2014. It also saw a turnover increase of 11.2% to £428m (2014: £385m).
The results showed a £20m rise in EBITDA to a loss of £29.9m (2014: £42.5m), which Yodel said its directors are “pleased” with.
The latest results included a £30m technology overhaul that it will implement over a number of years.
Yodel said in a statement: “The on-going programme of investment in operational and IT infrastructure will result in over £30m being spent to drive improvements in 2015/16.
“This, coupled with the appointment of new CEO Mike Cooper to drive the next stage in the company’s turnaround, cements Yodel’s ambition to increase performance in all areas including customer satisfaction, operational delivery and profitability.”
It added that the year had seen the “lowest levels of client attrition levels in Yodel’s trading history”.
Last month, executive chairman Dick Stead described some of the company’s employees’ behaviour as “an absolute disgrace”, after a Channel 4 Dispatches episode contained footage of individuals throwing, dropping and walking over parcels.
