Logistics group breaks £100m revenue barrier in return to profit

Robert Ross, Group Finance Director and Andrew Baxter, managing director, both Europa Worldwide Group

The West Midlands’ buoyant automotive sector has helped a logistics group secure a 20% increase in annual revenues.

Europa Worldwide Group, which has a large operation in Birmingham, has seen annual results for the full year to December 31, 2016 break through the £100m mark for the first time.

Averaging around 1,800 – 2,000 import and export consignments per month, the firm’s most in demand territories for West Midlands firms are the Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia, France and Poland, with its largest customer base being the automotive sector.

The group, based at Prologis Park in Minworth, has seen turnover rise to £116m and with it, a return to profit. Pre-tax profit increased to £2.3m compared with a loss of £1.6m in 2015.

Each division of the business has seen turnover growth – Warehouse up 47% on the previous year, Showfreight 34%, Sea 24%, Road 17% and Air 7%.

Projected turnover for the business for 2016-17 is £140m, with strong growth trajectories now established across all areas of the business.

The £100m milestone is all the more important for the business, which employs more than 130 staff in Birmingham, as it follows on from a challenging couple of years during which its owner Andrew Baxter and his team initiated a significant restructuring to ensure a solid platform for growth.

After acquiring Europa in 2013, Mr Baxter’s goal was to establish the company as a market leader for the distribution of goods between the UK and Europe.

He set himself the target of 2018 to achieve the goal and remains on track.

He said: “Our annual results for 2015-2016 are very positive, given the complex process of restructuring which came before. We needed to make these changes in order for Europa to thrive in the future – but it wasn’t easy and there were many obstacles in our way.

“Yet we came out the other side and I’m extremely proud to say we are now stronger than ever before. Our separate divisions – Road, Warehouse, Air and Sea and Showfreight – are at the cutting edge of their sectors, innovating every day in order to offer the best possible service to our customers.”

“I truly believe that by this time next year, we will be the leading operator for European goods distribution.”

Europa Worldwide Group employs more than 600 people across 11 sites in the UK and Hong Kong and is represented in 100 countries.

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