GEFCO generated revenues of €4.2bn in 2016, representing an increase of 1.3% compared to the same period in 2015. The company also saw an increase in EBITDA, which rose by 32.1% to €172.8m.
According to the company, the top line growth was reflective of conditions in the European car market, along with an internal focus on strategic customers. The company stated that the improvement in profitability was the result of a policy to optimise purchasing and reduce fixed costs; in line with a wider strategy enacted in 2014 to move to a more asset-light business model.
GEFCO has also committed to a diversification strategy, winning new business with customers involved in various sectors such as High Tech and Home Equipment (Whirlpool, TPV Technology), and Life Science & Healthcare (Zentiva, Artsen Zonder Grenzen (Médecins Sans Frontières), Netherlands, CEVA Santé Animale Romania).
Nonetheless, the company continued to win contracts within its core automotive customer base, including new deals with Renault Nissan, VWG Audi, TOYOTA, BMW and Talgo. GEFCO remains core to the supply chain of PSA Group, and signed an €8bn, exclusive agreement to optimise the company’s supply chain over the next 5 years, from sourcing components for production and assembly plants to distributing finished vehicles and spare parts.
GEFCO also managed to expand the scope of its business geographically during 2016, through the integration of IJS Global, a Dutch company specialised in Freight Forwarding. This acquisition enabled the Group to increase the number of its subsidiaries to 45, and as the Dutch company is specialised in the transport of pharmaceutical, high-tech, and aerospace products, also accelerated the diversification of GEFCO’s customer portfolio.
GEFCO CEO Luc Nadal stated: “In 2016, strategic new customers chose to work with GEFCO Group, which demonstrates our attractiveness and our expertise in optimising complex supply chains on a global scale. In 2017, our aim is to extend our Finished Vehicles Logistics business while continuing to develop the Overland, Warehousing and Reusable Packaging, Freight Forwarding and 4PL expertise by testing new technologies and concluding new partnerships. In this context, GEFCO steps in and develops e-commerce activity in the area of complex products and inbound logistics”.
Source: GEFCO
