Norbert Dentressangle has announced turnover of €1.9 billion for the first half of 2013.
The fresh produce lorry freight provider admitted to a downturn in transport and freight-forwarding operations, with overall operating profits down 14 per cent to €55.1 million for the period.
Looking ahead, Norbert CEO Hervé Montjotin pinpointed a new chilled logistics joint venture with Danone in Russia as a positive development and predicted a stronger peformance for the firm in the second half of the year.
Montjotin says that the decline in profits was due to one-off charges linked to measures taken within transport to adapt to weakened European market conditions. The firm’s transport turnover was down 3 per cent (€1,010bn) for the first six months of the year.
Montjotin explained: 'In Transport, the order of the day was to adapt to a sluggish economic climate, particularly for our industrial clients in France.
'The action we have taken has affected our operating profitability over the first half-year but we expect to see the first positive effects on the second half-year. Logistics is maintaining solid growth with a good level of profitability that is allowing us to expand the business outside Europe.Based on current market conditions, the seasonal nature of the group’s results, with a second half-year traditionally stronger than the first, and our solid foundations, we remain confident about our prospects.”
