Growth in activities in 2016.

European logistics service provider Vos Logistics increased its turnover for 2016 by 6.6% to € 276.2 million. After adjustment for diesel price movements, turnover was 8% higher. The volume of activity at both International Transport and Solutions was lifted by growth at existing customers and the acquisition of new customers.

• Turnover: € 276 million, up 8% after adjustment for diesel price movements
• EBIT: € 6.9 million; net profit: € 2.5 million
• Ambitious investment program launched for fleet renewal and digitization
• CO₂ footprint reduced

Rates remained under pressure in 2016. Profitability was also squeezed by increasing diesel prices during the year and higher costs that could not be passed on in rates. Operating income (EBIT) was accordingly down from      € 8.8 million to € 6.9 million. The net profit for the year came to € 2.5 million (2015: € 3.8 million). Cash flow from operating activities was 20% higher at € 16.2 million. Vos Logistics expects an increase in its turnover and results in 2017.

Investing in a vital organization

Vos Logistics invested more than € 17 million in its operations in 2016. 110 new trucks, including 10 LNG trucks, were added to the fleet. The total number of LNG trucks is now 36. The company also purchased 230 new loading units, including 40 CuBoLiners® (a curtainside mega trailer with flexible side boards developed by Vos Logistics itself) and 150 CuBoTainers® (swap bodies that can be used as curtainsiders, box trailers and mobile warehouses). Vos Logistics will replace 750 trucks with new Euro 6 trucks over the next two years.

Reduced CO₂ footprint

Vos Logistics also improved its environmental performance in 2016. It lowered its CO₂ emission by 2.7% to 0.036 kg per ton/kilometer. This reduction was due to the rejuvenation of the fleet, intensive driver training and higher loading efficiency thanks to intelligent transport solutions. The use of multimodal transport and the expansion of the LNG fleet with low-deck LNG trucks for international mega trailer transport also contributed to the improvement. At Cargo, more than 50% of international shipments now include a multimodal component. The CO₂ emission from the warehouses was also slightly lower in 2016.

Frank Verhoeven, CEO of Vos Logistics can look back on a good year: ”Volumes in all our core activities were boosted by investments in quality and new service concepts. Growth was also stimulated by the improved market conditions. Our smart logistics solutions and transport services help our customers improve their businesses and increase the cost efficiency of their logistics processes. In recent years Vos Logistics has been adding to the strong reputation it has built up in international transport over many decades by offering high quality logistics services such as warehousing, value added logistics, supply chain management, distribution and special home deliveries. Vos Logistics now ranks among the market leaders. We have the knowledge, experience and trained employees, infrastructure and financial strength necessary to achieve our ambition of forcefully rolling out our high quality services in the years ahead.”

“We will be turning our attention to digitizing our business processes and information systems in the coming years,”adds CFO Ben Vos. “In 2016 we launched online performance dashboards for our customers so that they can monitor the quality of our services and analyze the root causes of any problems. If we can identify the causes, we can also solve the problems. We also introduced the Vos Logistics Driver’s Portal to improve communication with the drivers. The portal provides them with important information when they are on the road. Our drivers will also be able to scan and transmit CMRs and freight documents immediately after unloading. This raises our efficiency and improves our customer service. In total we will invest € 38 million to renew the fleet, increase loading capacity and strengthen our digital ICT backbone in 2017.”

The integrated Annual Report 2016 is available here.