Turnover and profit up at John Hackling (Transport)

Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire storage and distribution firm John Hackling (Transport) said a near 12% rise in turnover and profit before tax in the year to the end of September was “in line with expectations”.

The firm, which is a member of both Palletline and The Hazchem Network,  reported an 11.9% rise in turnover during the year to £13.1m (2013: £11.7m); while pre-tax profit rose 12.48% to £1.34m (2013: £1.19m), resulting in a profit margin of just over 10%.

While the directors declared the financial position at year-end to be satisfactory, their financial report highlighted competition from other haulage contractors and external factors such as fuel prices as the key risks the business faced going forward.

Although the average headcount during the year stood just one member of staff up on last year at 133, the firm’s wages costs rose 9.6%, from £3.28m to £3.6m.

None of John Hackling (Transport)’s directors were available for comment.