New contracts help Geodis post 32pc higher revenue in third quarter

GEODIS, a European logistics operator, has announced that revenue grew by 31.6 per cent in the third quarter over the same period last year.

A statement from the group said all geographical segments contributed to the increase, with revenue growing on average by eight per cent in the company's home market of France.

In France, the groupage and express businesses recorded growth of 9.1 per cent like-for-like on the back of 9.3 per cent revenue growth in the first half of the year. Higher revenue was attributed to a steady rise in volumes and the policy of passing on higher fuel costs to customers.

Logistics third-quarter revenues in France rose by 4.4 per cent year on year. The improvement, which reversed the trend observed in first-half, was driven by new contracts.

Freight forwarding and industrial projects revenues in France grew 17.7 per cent at the end of September 2007. Geodis Bourgey Montreuil's full truckload revenues were up 3.6 per cent on the back of new contracts in the automotive sector and robust momentum in the manufacturing sector, a company statement said.

Revenue outside Europe in the third quarter rose 17.9 per cent and 22.1 per cent, versus 6.4 per cent and 14.9 per cent respectively in the first half. Asia made a strong contribution to the increase with revenue growth of 37 per cent in the third quarter compared with 18 per cent in the first half of the year, led by China and Hong Kong.