Courier and data management business Freightways has reported record earnings across its business units but warns courier prices will need to rise.
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Key numbers for year ended June 2021 vs the year earlier:
- Net profit - $49.6m vs 47.4m up 4.8 percent
- Operating revenue - $800.5m vs 630.9 up 27 percent
- Full year dividend -18 cps vs nil
In a market announcement the company, which was seen as a bellwether stock for the local economy, said it had also been a good year for couriers, with average remuneration up 8 percent.
"Just as importantly, we've seen a 10 percent reduction in turnover in our courier fleet," it said.
However, the company said courier prices would need to rise.
"There's no doubt in our minds, for example, that local pricing also needs to move to a better place."
"Customers are in essence paying the same rate for local delivery that they were paying 25 years ago. In that time, our cities have become much more congested and difficult to move around in."
It said the outlook was somewhat uncertain with the courier business operating under alert level 4, significantly impacting activity levels across all the New Zealand businesses.
"However, experience from the lockdowns of last year suggests that as soon as alert levels are lowered from alert level 4 to alert level 3 or below, the express package businesses should recover quickly and tend to experience higher volumes than previously expected."
In any case, it the company will continue to focus on improving margins, particularly in Australia, and continue to build momentum and profitability in our New Zealand brands.
The company said it was pleased with the growth in the Big Chill business, which had contributed a full year of earnings.
It said the Australian-based Med-X medical waste business was also delivering positive results, with $16 million in revenue.
However, it said there had not been a lot of growth in the Australian Information Management division, which had been dogged by a number of pandemic-related lockdowns.