UK Mail first half profit up 63pc on 50pc less tax

UK EXPRESS and mail services provider UK Mail Group plc has announced that group profit after tax rose by 163.2 per cent in the first half of its financial year ending September 30 to GBP5 million (US$8.25 million), compared to the same period last year of GBP1.9 million after paying GBP4 million in tax, double what it paid this year.

In the six months to the end of September 2008 the group paid GBP2.2 million in exceptional taxation items versus none in the same period this year. Taxation before exceptional items in the first half of the 2008 financial year added a further GBP1.8 million onto the group's interim tax bill versus GBP2 million (for taxation before exceptional items) this year.

The group's 2009 unaudited interim revenues were down 3.2 per cent year on year to GBP188.2 million, compared with GBP194.5 million in 2008.

UK Mail revenues rose 5.6 per cent in the six months to September 30 to GBP84.6 million compared to the same period a year earlier when the result came in at GBP80.1 million, a company statement said.

It said that during the period under review, net cash rose to GBP3.6 million up from a net debt of GBP1.9 million in 2008.

Guy Buswell, chief executive of UK Mail, said: "Our first half performance has been robust, despite the market challenges. We have taken more cost out of our distribution network, already one of the most efficient in the industry. This, together with new business wins and innovative new products coming on stream, has increased profit (before tax) by 18.6 per cent (to GBP7.0 million) despite a slight revenue reduction. Our financial position is also strong, with net cash at the period end.

"Our strategy is to leverage our low-cost network in order to build competitive advantage and drive profitable revenue growth. By bringing new products and services to market, we aim to increase both the size of the market available to us and our share of that market.

"Whilst market conditions for the balance of the year remain hard to predict, trading in recent weeks has been in line with our expectations, with minimal overall impact from the recent mail strikes. We therefore remain confident about the outcome for the full year, and about UK Mail Group's longer-term prospects," he said.
 

Source: SchedNet