Wincanton continues to reap rewards of pandemic-era eCommerce boom
Supply chain partner Wincanton has continued to reaped the rewards of the pandemic-era eCommerce boom, after revenue from the eFulfilment sector has soared over 50 per cent.
Total revenue for the group rose by 15 per cent, in comparison with the same quarter last year, Wincanton confirmed in its third quarter trading update today.
The strong performance prompted the group to lift its full year profit forecast, which saw investors dive into the stock.
Wincanton’s share price up over 11 per cent to 389p per share by close of play.
The industry has been hit hard the UK’s labour shortage, which has seen the number of HGV drivers in the country dwindle.
However, Wincanton said it was able to manage the shortages and has opened a dialogue with its customers to “mitigate supply chain risk and manage cost pressures”.
The group reported a “successful” Christmas period at its customer fulfilment centre for Waitrose.com, though there were some issues around online volumes for some customers after “higher-than-expected” high streets sales around Black Friday.
The logistics group delivered 25m cases of food and drink in the week leading up to Christmas, with revenue in its grocery and consumer sector swelling nearly 20 per cent in the latest quarter, in comparison with the same period in 2020.
“Looking ahead, the business is on the right track,” said CEO James Wroath. “We are maintaining our relentless focus on the delivery of our strategy, with innovation and new technologies driving growth throughout the business.”
Wincanton raked in total revenue of £1.22bn in the year to 31 March 2021, increasing £20.7m, as it enjoyed a surge in eCommerce activity and ‘unprecedented’ retail volumes.