Wincanton saw its losses significantly deepen in the months following its acquisition by GXO, newly published financial figures revealed.
The company reported a pre-tax loss of £44.9m in the year ending 31 March 2024, but this then doubled into a £88.4m loss in the subsequent nine months ending 31 December.
On 29 April 2024, GXO Logistics acquired Wincanton at a share price of 605p. The deal is currently subject to a Competition and Markets Authority investigation; a decision has yet to be announced.
Revenues for the period ending 31 December 2024 were £1.1bn, lower than the £1.4bn reported in the year ending 31 March 2024 due to the shorter timescale.
It said business deals in the year included JD Sports, Sofa.com, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Brompton Bicycles, although Wincanton added that these were offset by customer-led market exits, customer losses and macro-economic headwinds.
“The group made a statutory loss before tax of £88.4m in the period, driven by non-underlying charges totalling £123m,” Wincanton said in its strategic report.
“These include costs related to the acquisition of the company by GXO, an impairment of one of our multi-user sites with an associated onerous provision for contracts operating within that site and other non-underlying charges.”
Wincanton told Motor Transport the business was profitable during the period and was “growing solidly”.
A Wincanton spokesperson added: “In our revised nine-month financial reporting period, ending 31 December 2024, Wincanton was pleased to deliver double-digit revenue growth, underlying profit before tax in-line with management expectations, and continued strong cash generation.
“Our overall profit before tax was impacted due to one-off non-underlying costs connected to the acquisition by GXO, together with the exit of a customer at one of our multi-user facilities.”
In March 2024, the company acquired robotics firm Invar Group, which it sees as a significant area of opportunity: “Customers across Invar and Wincanton have responded positively to the acquisition, which has led to a number of opportunities which continue to be developed,” Wincanton said.
“The sector is well placed for growth, following a focus on integration during the period to December 2024.
Invar rebranded as Inteq in March this year.
