July 9, 2019 - Logistics company FM Logistic today reported its financial results for the fiscal year 2018-19 ended on March 31, 2019. It will publish its detailed, audited Annual Report on July 15, 2019 immediately following its AGM.
FM Logistic reported revenues of €1,318 million in the year ending March 2019, up 11.8% year-on-year, and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of €35.1 million, up 32% from last fiscal year's €26.5 million. Adjusted for currency effects, revenue growth was 15%. The EBIT improvement was driven by measures taken by the company to increase its operational efficiency and be more selective in its commercial approach.
"FM Logistic delivered a solid performance in fiscal 2018-19 with a double-digit growth in revenues and EBIT," said Jean-Christophe Machet, FM Logistic CEO. "Revenue growth was exclusively organic, a sign of customer confidence. The profitability improvement reflects the first results of our Focus plan. Initiated in 2017, this plan has four objectives: set the right prices for our services, increase operational efficiency, develop human resources and be more selective from a commercial standpoint. These results lend further credibility to our business model as an independent and family owned company."
FM Logistic took advantage of the sustained demand for logistics services in Europe and Asia, which was propelled by omnichannel distribution and e-commerce. FM Logistic won €190 million worth of new contracts during fiscal 2018-19, notably from companies in the FMCG, retail, perfume and cosmetics sectors.
FM Logistic's transport business achieved a revenue growth of 17% (at constant FX), helped by the performance of its Citylogin urban logistics service. Citylogin has gained traction with large e-commerce and retail companies.
FM Logistic continued to expand its international presence across Europe during FY 2018-19 with the opening or expansion of several logistics platforms in Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Spain and Italy. Construction is underway on new logistics platforms in India and Vietnam. Countries outside the French market now account for 61% of FM Logistic's revenues.
In France, FM Logistic started, or extended, 19 new customer projects and inaugurated two new multi-client logistics platforms in Escrennes (in the Loiret district) and L'Herbergement (in western France) to answer the demand from leading consumer goods and retail brands.
In parallel, FM Logistic continued to invest in the automation of its warehouse processes, enhancing operational efficiency with the deployment of additional automated guided vehicles (AGVs), collaborative robots (cobots) and inventory drones. The company also continued its digital transformation, with the migration of several applications to the cloud, the adoption of new warehouse management systems (WMS), the rollout of a digital HR Suite, and the implementation of Google's G Suite.
FM Logistic created 2,300 full time equivalent positions in the year ended March 2019 to support its business growth. The company now employs more than 27,200 people. The workforce grew at a slower pace than revenues (9.3% compared with 11.8%), a sign of the enhanced skills of employees and of the positive results yielded by the actions undertaken to drive operational efficiency. Despite the tight labour markets in Europe, FM Logistic managed to fulfil most of its recruitment needs.
In FY 2018-19, FM Logistic started to roll out a new sustainable development programme. This translates into, among others, the installation of solar panels on the rooftops of the new logistics platforms at Escrenne and l'Herbergement, France. FM Logistic has also teamed up with a French research university to design and develop an exoskeleton especially made for logistics operators.
FM Logistic's sustainable development efforts gained several recognitions during FY 2018-19. The company received a B- from the reporting firm CDP for its environmental policy, well above the sector's average of D. FM Logistic improved its score from C to B- and is now among the top 13 percent performers evaluated by CDP, regardless of the country of origin and industry sector.
In France, FM Logistic was awarded ISO 45001 certification (health and safety at work) for all its 30 French logistics platforms, the first such award for a logistics provider.
Forecasts
For FY 2019-20, FM Logistic expects a further improvement of EBIT on the back of slower revenue growth due to increased commercial selectivity. These objectives are to be understood at constant exchange rates and excluding acquisitions.
About FM Logistic
Founded in France in 1967, FM Logistic is a family-owned independent logistics company with revenues of €1.3 billion in the fiscal year to March 2019. It is active in 14 countries across Europe, Asia and Latin America (Brazil) and employs more than 27,200 people.
Media contact:
Cyrille Gibot
Group external communication manager
FM Logistic
Phone: +33 6 45 99 91 58
More Info: https://www.fmlogistic.com/eng-gb
