Small fall in profits with Clipper Logistics

The Leeds-based logistics provider produced a group profit after tax of £13.4m, down from 2018’s £14.3m.

In the year ending April 30 of this year it drove its revenue up by 15 per cent to £460.2m from £400.1m last year.

And despite the slight row back on profit levels, its bosses said that contracts entered into during the latter part of the year were likely to boost full year earnings by £3m.

During the period to April 30 Clipper landed deals with several major multinational customers including boohoo.com subsidiary PrettyLittleThing, Ginger Ray, Levi Strauss, Vestel, the

Mountain Warehouse brand Neon Sheep, Tech Data and Sports Direct in the UK, and Mountain Warehouse in Poland.

It said it had seen significant revenue growth in value-added logistics both in the UK and Europe, particularly in e-fulfilment and returns management.

Among its blue chip clients are Leeds-based Asda, Bradford-based Morrisons, Halfords and ASOS in the UK.

Steve Parkin, chairman of Clipper, said: “Despite the challenging market conditions facing the retail sector, the Group has achieved another strong financial performance, growing revenue by 15.0 per cent.

“The group is well positioned to continue to deliver strong returns to our shareholders, despite the challenges that some parts of the retail sector are experiencing.

“We are mindful of the wider economic climate, and in particular of the headwinds facing our customers in the retail sector.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely and engage with our customers to find new ways to pro-actively assist them.”

Looking forward Mr Parkin said: “Recent contract wins, together with a strong pipeline of new business activity and the further evolution of our Click and Collect proposition, place the group in an excellent position to achieve further growth both in the UK and internationally.”

Clipper is also currently trailing a ‘goods-to-person’ robotic solution for Superdry in Burton.