European road freight firm said economic conditions ‘remained broadly neutral’ in the third quarter of 2019, providing the chance to focus on the transformation programme of its flagship international transportation segment.
One of Europe’s leading full truckload (FTL) operators, Waberer’s International, has reported a net loss and decline in turnover in the third quarter (July-September), compared with the same period last year.
However, the Hungary-based firm underlined that the negative figures were largely a result of ongoing restructuring measures in its international road freight business focusing on a fleet reduction programme and which are beginning to bear fruit.
Net income for the third quarter (Q3) of 2019 and the first nine months of the year was a negative €5.6 million and €19.1 million respectively. Q3 revenue was down by 7.1% to €169.8 million year-on-year and showed a decrease of 3.9% for the nine-month period (January-September 2019) to €524.6 million.
“In the third quarter of 2019, economic conditions remained broadly neutral so Waberer’s had the chance to focus on the transformation programme of its flagship International Transportation Segment (ITS), which had visible effects on the reported financials for the quarter, CEO Robert Ziegler said in a statement.
“The basis of the transformation programme is the reduction of (our) own trucking capacities, in order to improve the utilisation and thus the profitability of the ITS segment. The first encouraging signs that this concept is working emerged already in the second quarter. In the third quarter, the fleet was cut by another 260 trucks and utilisation levels rose to improved levels.”
The statement added that gains in truck efficiency and the fleet reduction programme have started to influence margins positively and will show more positive effect on results in the quarters to come.
Waberer’s regional contract logistics segment posted a strong Q3 with the successful renegotiation of low-margin or loss-making contracts while new client acquisitions are expected to have higher profitability. A recent contract signed with German automotive group Audi is its largest to date.
Source: Lloyd’s
