Communisis seals contracts worth £20m

In a trading statement for the quarter ending September 30, Communisis said the group had “maintained its performance” and its expectations for full year group results remain unchanged.

It also revealed that it could close its Bristol operation next year.

The statement added: “New customer wins during the third quarter included long term contracts with Boots UK and Northern Rock. A number of existing customer relationships were also significantly expanded most notably with Barclaycard increasing the range of marketing services outsourced to Communisis, and Procter & Gamble awarding us a further contract for the delivery of a large, multi-country loyalty scheme. Taken together, these relationships should deliver annual revenues in excess of £20m, underpinning our confidence in 2012 and future years.”

The company said it was very pleased with the progress on its BBC Television Licensing contract and customers which Communisis secured as a result of its acquisition of Orchestra Bristol.

The company added: “We recently informed employees at the Bristol site of our plans to transfer the fulfillment of all these contracts to our facilities in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds and have entered into a consultation phase regarding the potential closure of the Bristol operation by early 2012.

“This could result in an additional exceptional restructuring charge of approximately £900,000 in the second half of 2011 and deliver annual profit improvements in excess of this amount in 2012.”

The company said its partnership with Equifax was continuing to help broaden its range of services.

It said: “We have also reached an exclusive agreement with Sorriso Technologies to develop an e-billing product, with targeted marketing communication features, that will substantially enhance our capabilities in this expanding digital market sector.”

Chief executive, Andy Blundell, said: “We are continuing to execute our plans for profitable growth and I am pleased with the further good progress we have made during this quarter.

“Customers drive our strategy and we remain focused on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of their marketing programmes and transactional communications.”