Smethwick-based parcel firm DPD delivers rising revenue and profits

At the same time the company says it is investing in its larger depot sites to meet customer demand.

The company employs around 1,500 people at its 27-acre headquarters site in Broadwell Road, Oldbury, and another 500 at its DPD Local site in Roebuck Lane, Smethwick – formerly Interlink Express.

Accounts just filed at Companies House show that it finished 2016 in "a very strong financial position" with DPD Group profits up five per cent to £131 million, while its revenue jumped by 15 per cent to £806m.

In a separate filing, the group revealed its newly renamed DPD Local business enjoyed a similar strong performance, with turnover up 14 per cent to £283m and pre-tax profits up eight per cent to £39m.

Part of one of Europe’s leading parcels groups, wholly owned by France’s La Poste, DPD, headed by chief executive Dwain McDonald, employs more than 11,000 people in the UK, operating more than 3,000 vehicles from 56 sites and delivering 200 million parcels a year.

In the last two years DPD has opened six huge purpose-built distribution centres, each in excess of 60,000 sq ft and furnished with £1.2m worth of automated sorting equipment and capable of sorting 30,000 parcels a day.

The company, which makes most of its money from next day deliveries, said it hit 100 per cent of its service level targets during the year.

In the report's business review, DPD said: "The company has continued to develop its business and the directors are satisfied with the operating results.

"The company has made plans to continue to grow market share and has put in place strategies and investment programmes to achieve this objective.

"The board believes the company is well placed to deliver further growth of revenue and profit from both core products and from further value-added services."

The year also saw DPD launching its award-winning Your DPD app, now used by almost two million UK customers to track their deliveries. Along with other advances such as Predict, its one hour delivery window service, and Precise, which allows customers to select their own delivery slot, DPD saw chief executive Dwain McDonald named Tech Pioneer of the Year 2017 at the recent Retail Week Tech Awards in London.