TNT Express has seen a drop in both turnover and operating profit, following the loss of a contract with a major fashion retailer in the UK.

The operator’s Q3 2013 results revealed that adjusted operating profit for its Europe Main division (UK and Ireland, Benelux, France, Germany and Italy), fell by a quarter, compared to the same period in 2012, while turnover fell slightly.

It attributed the drop to both the loss of a contract with an unnamed fashion retailer in the UK, as well as lower turnover in Italy.

A spokeswoman declined to comment on who the contract was with or what it involved.

The firm also revealed that it has made progress with its ‘Deliver!’ profit improvement plan, claiming to have saved around €10m (£8.6m)in the quarter. The plan was launched in March and TNT expects that it will save around €30m in total this year as a result.

TNT Express CEO Tex Gunning said: “We have made excellent progress this quarter towards realising our Deliver! objectives. We have achieved important milestones for our overhead and operational improvement projects and are seeing some first tangible benefits from the measures taken.”

The company expects that trading conditions will remain demanding, Gunning added.

Last week, TNT’s UK business revealed that it had ordered 300 new Euro-5 vehicles as part of its vehicle replacement plan.

Result highlights:

  • Europe Main turnover fell 3.4% to €794m (Q3 2012: €822m).
  • Europe Main adjusted operating profit dropped 25% to €33m  (Q3 2012: €44m).
  • Group reported turnover decreased by 6.6% to €1.6bn (Q3 2012: €1.7bn).
  • Group operating income from continued operations fell 85.5% to €9m (Q3 2012: €62m), following the disposal of its domestic business in Brazil.

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