James Kemball

Felixstowe-based haulier James Kemball’s investment in additional fleet appears to have paid off with a 9% rise in turnover and 32% jump in pre-tax profit.

The container haulage company has also taken on new MD Peter Keates as part of a management restructuring that took place in April.

The restructuring has seen MD Kevin Williams and directors Keiji Kubo and Yadoonandan Ramlalsing leave the company with Keates joined by Barry Tuck as company secretary.

Both Keates and Tuck are also directors of Upminster freight transport company Uniserve (UK). Other posts Keates holds include MD of logistics company YCT, formerly known as Youngs Container Transport, and MD of Zenith Logistics Group.

Reporting its full-year results to the end of March 2016, James Kemball said turnover rose to £20.9m (2015: £19.1m).

Pre-tax profit also rose to £439,701 (2015: £331,925). This compared with a 1% increase in turnover and a 16% fall in pre-tax profit in the full year to 31 March 2015.

The company’s directors were unavailable for comment on both the results and the management restructuring.

However, in the annual report the former directors said they were “satisfied” with the results, attributing growth to the addition of 29 trucks to the company’s fleet and a fall in the cost of fuel during the period.

The haulier’s website states that it currently has 120 44-tonners and 160 trailers in its fleet.

The directors did however warn that the company’s costs are going up due to the UK’s ongoing driver shortage, which resulted in “more reliance on agency drivers as it has become increasingly difficult to attract new drivers”.

Despite this the company remains upbeat, anticipating further growth in turnover this year following its fleet expansion.

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