Maxi Haulage is preparing for a challenging year with “poorer margins”, as fuel price rises, linked to the conflict in Iran, exacerbate tough trading conditions in the haulage sector.
The company, which has its headquarters in Inverness, operates haulage, warehousing and logistics services across the UK and Ireland, running a fleet of articulated and rigid trucks and 750 trailers from seven depots, as well as from customer premises.
In its latest annual results for the year to 30 September 2025, the company reported turnover edging up marginally to £84.2m (2024: £84m), while pre-tax profit rose to £1.8m (2024: £1.4m).
The company’s review of the business said performance during the year was “lower than desired” but remained satisfactory given profit pressures across the industry.
It added that Maxi Haulage was now facing “major issues” in the current year, arising from the ongoing conflict in Iran, which it said was affecting fuel supply, increasing costs and disrupting client logistics operations.
Directors said the situation was under constant review and that operational changes were being made on a daily basis to respond to developments.
Despite the pressures, the company said its management team and financial reserves left it confident it could cope with the challenges ahead.
The report also confirmed that MD Alan Miles retired after 29 years of service, post year end, and has been retained by the business on a consultancy basis.
The review said competition and employee retention remained among its key risks, but highlighted continued investment in staff training and development, as well as a focus on diversity and inclusion.
Maxi Haulage said it continued to work closely with customers, suppliers and subcontractors while maintaining a focus on environmental responsibility, safety and governance standards.
Parent company Maxi Caledonian reported group turnover of more than £106.3m for the same period, up from £105m in 2024, while pre-tax profit increased to £5.1m from £3.6m.
Maxi Caledonian is the ultimate holding company of Maxi Group, Maxi Haulage, Maxi Warehousing, Maxi Construction, Maxi Construction Management, Maxi Properties, and Ixam.
In its review of the group’s performance Maxi Caledonian said: “Overall, the group had a successful trading year but has experienced the challenges of poor trading conditions in the haulage industry.”
It added that Maxi Haulage had continued to face industry-wide challenges that prevented increased costs being passed on to customers during the year.
It added that higher fuel costs and disruption to supplier and customer logistics caused by the conflict in Iran were expected to result in “poorer margins”, although it said the division would “adequately cope” with the issues.
