Secured Mail invests in growth
POSTAL group Secured Mail saw a leap in turnover last year but slim margins and acquisition costs left the business in the red.
Newly-filed accounts for the year to July show revenue at the Warrington business climbed from £47.9m to £66.8m while pre-tax losses widened to £1.85m from a pre-tax profit of £480,000 last time.
The bottom line was dented by exceptional costs of £900,000 associated with the firm’s acquisition of the down stream access operation from DHL Global Mail in February 2012.
This business has now been integrated into the wider group and has “significantly increased the operational capacity of the group”, according to the directors’ report.
Finance director Michael Owen told TheBusinessDesk.com that the business spent the year investing to allow for future growth. This year the company is forecast to turnover around £80m and return to profit.
He said: “Because we’re building capacity we’ve invested in people, infrastructure and premises. We’ve now got the footprint for this year’s growth.”
He added: “Margins have improved, the cost base is coming down and we’re continuing to grow. We’ve won some significant new contracts and we have continued our investment in home shopping deliveries.”
Secured Mail handles around 650 million items but a deal struck in January with City Link should add up to 100 million more. The business, in which London private equity backer Next Wave took a 40% stake in 2011, focuses on smaller items of post such as letters and packets. It manages the post of corporate clients through the sorting and distribution process and uses Royal Mail for final deliveries. Its customers include Amazon, American Express, Anglia Water and Centrica. Secured Mail has around 140 staff.
