Rhenus Logistics said wider market pressures and investments made to strengthen its business resulted in reductions in revenues and a pre-tax loss last year.
The road, sea, air transport and warehousing business saw a 5.9% reduction in sales, to £80.9m in the year ending 31 December 2024.
The company reported an operating loss of £3.5m and a pre-tax loss of £3.6m, broadly comparable to its £3.5m pre-tax loss in 2023.
Gross profit decreased by 4.5%, which Rhenus said was impacted by the reduction in underlying sales but offset in part by a marginal increase in the gross margin ratio from 28.3% to 28.7% in 2024.
Marion Simpson, MD of Rhenus Road UK, said: “The changes reported are in line with wider market pressures experienced across the logistics sector as a whole during this period and also reflect the costs of investments to strengthen the business and drive growth.
“As part of our growth ambitions in the UK, we have launched a dedicated domestic freight service, a strategic expansion designed to meet growing demand for high-quality, UK-wide logistics solutions.
“This new service complements Rhenus Road’s international freight and charter portfolio and was launched following a successful pilot program.”
Simpson added: “Investment and innovation are crucial to our long-term growth ambitions. Within the Road logistics business, Northern and Southern Groupage gateways were opened in 2024 as part of Rhenus’s European-wide Groupage Network 2.0 service.
“These are already helping customers with consolidated import and export services, helping to drive efficiencies with daily departures into the EU.”
The company said a focus within its warehousing division has been sustainability, with the opening of a development, Rhenus Campus, in Nuneaton in April 2024.
The 64-acre site is home to two warehouses that total almost 1m sq ft and have achieved BREEAM ‘outstanding’ status.
Kerry Delaney, Rhenus Warehousing MD, said: “The Rhenus Campus forms an important part of our global commitment to positively impacting the environment.
“Renewable energy, air source heat pumps, energy efficiency and biodiversity initiatives are key components of delivering more sustainable warehouse operations.”
The group added that scale and diversity would see it continuing to invest across multiple markets for long-term growth.
