Freightways 1Q profit rises 7%, affirms growth expected in full year
Freightways said earnings grew 7％ in its first quarter, driven by increased sales from express packages, putting it on track for full-year profit growth.
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Freightways [NZX: FRE], New Zealand's largest listed courier and data management company, said earnings grew 7 percent in its first quarter, driven by increased sales from express packages, putting it on track for full-year profit growth.
Profit rose to $9.79 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, from $9.19 million a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement made in conjunction with its annual shareholders' meeting. Sales climbed 4 percent to $104.69 million.
"Our overall first-quarter performance is positive and, while still early in the financial year, it underpins our expectation of a full-year result ahead of the prior year," managing director Dean Bracewell said. Earnings growth would be helped by the expected contribution from newly-acquired information management businesses.
Recent acquisitions are the business and assets of Brisbane-based Document & Data Storage Management and Dunedin-based Document Destruction Services, effective Oct. 1, for a total cost of about $4.5 million. They are expected to contribute earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $800,000 in the first full 12 months after integration.
Sales at the company's express package and business mail division rose 5 percent to $80 million and EBITDA rose 2 percent to $13.5 million. That reflected market share gains and increased demand from existing customers of its retail businesses.
Its DX Mail business recorded a year-on-year decline, reflecting the changing business mix, with a pickup from its Dataprint mailhouse and street delivery volumes not yet enough to offset a slide in 'box-to-box' letter volumes and lower international package volumes, the company said.
Information management recorded revenue of $25 million, unchanged from a year earlier, while EBITDA rose 1 percent to $5.9 million, with results partly reflecting the impact of bringing Australian revenue home into a stronger New Zealand dollar.
The shares were unchanged at $4.30 and have edged up 1.2 percent this year.
(BusinessDesk)
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Freightways 1Q profit rises 7%, affirms growth expected in full year
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