Parcel firm delivers extra £10m turnover
Staffordshire-based delivery company APC Overnight has added £10 million to its turnover figure, despite a drop in profit as it invested heavily in new equipment for its hub site at Cannock.
Turnover was up 11.5 per cent to £98.8 million, but pre-tax profit fell by more than £1 million, down to £2.4 million from £3.5 million the year before.
The company's latest accounts filed at Companies House, for the 12 months to the end of March 2015, say profit fell "mainly due to changes in the market and traffic profile coupled with the additional costs associated with operating across multi sites whilst establishing the facility enhancements at Cannock."
Despite the drop, the accounts record: "The directors are satisfied with the profit for the year."
APC delivers through a network of 115 local depots tied to its major hub on the Kingswood Lakeside site where it currently employs around 500 people, following heavy recruitment in advance of the Christmas period, and handles around 30 million parcels a year.
The company said network trading had performed well during the year under review, as it also completed work installing two 'sky sorters' to increase the amount of parcels it could handle.
It used both its Cannock site and its former headquarters site at Essington during the year to keep up with demand during the major work.
APC also bought 45 new trailers, its biggest ever investment in its transport fleet.
At the same time the company redeveloped 2.5 acres of its Cannock site as an expanded trailer park.
Looking ahead, the company said it was investing in its IT system and would also carry out a review of its delivery traffic after its peak period in 2015 - the Christmas delivery rush.
APC is also drawing up plans for further expansion, either at its Cannock hub or at its regional operations.
APC's new chief executive, Jonathan Smith, was appointed in April and has overseen the busiest December in the company's 21-year history.
APC specialises in serving SME businesses – small or medium-sized enterprises – and Mr Smith was in bullish mood when he spoke to the Express & Star earlier in December:
"We ourselves are in growth but we are unique in that we are one of the first indicators of the economy. The fact we are doing so well gives me confidence the country is doing well.
"You see it first in parcel companies. The country is trying to recover and recovery usually comes through SMEs."
