Whistl, the leading delivery management company with activities in Downstream Access Mail, Doordrop Media and Parcels, has announced its first full year results following the management buyout of the company in 2015.
On a turnover of £592m, the key highlights of 2016 were:
- An improvement in profitability to £9.6m and EBITDA to £13.6m
Progress in all three areas of growth within the business. Parcels experienced an 8.6% increase in volume; Doordrop Media grew by 19.7% and international volume grew by 30.2%
118% improvement in underlying operating profit was driven by a solid performance in mail, the three growth areas, together with efficient, high quality operational delivery and keenly focused cost management
Net assets rose from £6.4m to £13.7m, including cash reserves increasing to £22.9m from £14.4m in 2015. There was an increase to £8.7m of operating free cashflow.
A, fully committed, four-year bank facility of £65m remains unutilised over the two previous financial years
Increased capital expenditure by 43.5% over last year, showing continued investment in business efficiency including in IT, operational infrastructure and back office systems to support growth in Parcels, International services and Doordrop Media
“Since the MBO, our strategy at Whistl has been underpinned by our core Downstream Access infrastructure and experience, and is supplemented with growth strategies for our Parcels, International and Doordrop Media services.
Our strong financial performance in 2016 is based upon our commitment to cost efficiency and providing best in class account management, excellent quality and strong customer relationships. Supported by significant new customer wins in Q1/17 and continued investment in the business, including our new super depot in Bolton, we expect Whistl to continue to deliver excellent growth.”