Profits drop by a third at Chippenham-based Wincanton

Published by

Peter Davison

Profits have dropped by a third at Wincanton

Profits at logistics giant Wincanton have dropped by a third, according to financial results published this week.

The Chippenham-headquartered firm told investors that inflationary pressures and lower customer volumes had led to the 30.3 per cent slump from £54.8 million in 2022 to £38.2 million in 2023.

However, full year revenue was up 2.9 per cent to £1.46 billion.

A squeeze on consumer spending had impacted retail volumes in its grocery and e-commerce fulfilment divisions, while the company had also had to manage “inflationary pressures”, with steps taken to pass on some of its higher operating costs to clients, the firm told investors.

New business momentum was sustained with major customer wins secured across the group's four sectors, said the firm.

Contract renewals were agreed with long-standing customers including Sainsbury's, Waitrose & Partners, Wickes, Co-op and Halfords.

CEO James Wroath said: "Our strategy delivered a strong result in FY23 despite the prevailing macro-economic challenges, particularly with regard to retail volumes and inflation.

"We continue to invest in technology as the route to deliver competitive advantage in the industry. Significant opportunities remain for warehouse automation across our Group, both in the foundation sectors and strategic growth markets.

"Furthermore, our transport operations have had a shift in focus with technology at the heart of our new market proposition. I am thankful to the Wincanton team who has delivered excellent performance in a difficult economy.

"Their determination and innovation will continue to be essential, as we expect volumes to remain under pressure into FY24 due to the macro-economic environment."

Peter Davison

Peter Davison is deputy editor of The Business Magazine. He has spent his life in journalism – doing work experience in newsrooms in and around Bristol while still at school, and landing his first job on a local newspaper aged 19. By 28 he was the youngest newspaper editor in the country. An early advocate of online news, he spent the first years of the 2000s telling his bosses that the internet posed both the biggest opportunity and greatest threat to the newspaper industry and the art of journalism. He was right on both counts. Since 2006 he has enjoyed a career as a freelance journalist. He lives in rural Wiltshire with one wife, two children, and three cats.