Waberer’s has reported flat revenue growth in Q3, but margins have been under pressure due to high fuel prices and lower truck utilisation.
Total revenue in the third quarter stayed flat year-on-year at €183m but on a year-to-date basis revenues have increased by 10% to €546m. International Transportation Segment revenue decreased by 3% as the positive effect of higher prices were offset by adverse volume effects in off-season months. Revenue in the Regional Contract Logistics segment rose by 11%, driven by higher prices, a growing fleet and increased warehouse capacity.
Recurring EBITDA decreased by 30% year-on-year to €18m in the third quarter of 2018. It is now thought that recurring EBITDA for 2018 will be 15 to 20% lower than in 2017. The company made a recurring net loss of €2.7m, mainly due to a one-off deferred tax charge. In the International Transportation Segment, recurring EBITDA was 34% lower in the third quarter of 2018 as margins remained under pressure due to a continued increase of fuel price (15% year-on-year) and a decrease in truck utilisation. EBITDA decreased by 11% in the Regional Contract Logistics segment, due to the adverse effect of higher wages and fuel prices.
The labour market situation remains challenging as the industry is currently facing severe driver shortages. Waberer’s management believes the current drop in profitability is due to lower utilisation, which is predominantly due to a slower than expected repricing of the road transportation market. It claims to have implemented measures to adapt its operational model to the changing market environment.
Ferenc Lajkó, CEO of Waberer’s International, commented, “Market dynamics in the third quarter of 2018 had an unusually unfavourable impact on our financials. As in previous quarters, both of our key segments continued to be characterised by a double-digit year-on-year rise in fuel prices coupled with a tight labour market, putting pressure on margins. In this environment, our strategy has been to compensate the squeeze in margins by raising prices, but this was met with adverse volume effects in the summer months when capacities were abundant. The company has started to adapt its operational model to the changing market environment by implementing additional immediate measures including cost reduction, network optimisation, operational efficiency improvement, and the upgrade of key IT systems.”
Source: Waberer’s
