France: Profitability of SNCF Logistics improved in H1 2017
14.09.2017 France: Profitability of SNCF Logistics improved in H1 2017L'Antenne, 14 Sep 2017, online:-
SNCF Logistics, the subsidiary of French state-owned railway company dedicated to freight transportation and logistics, had a growth in both in turnover and profitability during the first half of 2017. Its turnover rose by 3.7% to EUR 5.12bn (USD 6.16bn) and while all of its activities contributed to this growth, Geodis stands out due to the weight of its revenues, which were slightly over EUR 4bn (+3.4%). The company benefited from a growth in the volumes recorded for its freight forwarding activities, which had a 7.7% increase in turnover. Its contractual logistics reported a 12.2% growth and the turnover generated by the firm's Contract Logistics US business (formerly OHL) increased by 5.4%. While its rail freight and multimodal transport activities had a 3.3% growth to EUR 766mn, this is due to a catching-up effect compared to the first half of 2016, which was marked by social movements. When excluding this exceptional item, this activity fell by 3.7% due to poor cereal harvests. Nevertheless, this division pursued two of its main priorities: the digitisation of its industrial processes and expansion abroad with the acquisition of a 45% stake in rail freight group BLS Cargo, a subsidiary of Swiss company Bern Lotschberg Simplon. SNCF Logistics closed the first half of 2017 with an operating margin of EUR 190mn (+5.5%), while the SNCF group reached a net profit of EUR 119mn (after recording a loss of EUR 159mn a year earlier) for a turnover of EUR 16.62bn (+3.7%).
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