Directors at John G Russell were ‘pleased’ with the group’s performance despite a drop in pre-tax profits in its latest financial results, writes Carol Millett.
The Glasgow-based group’s pre-tax profit drop fell more than 50% in 2024/25 to £3.2 million, down from £8.1 million, and turnover increased by 9.7% to £96 million.
John G Russell’s directors called the areas where it works – logistics, distribution, warehousing and rail freight as a ‘challenging market’.
It runs a fleet of over 250 vehicles, around 500 trailers, more than 1,000 intermodal containers, has more than one million sq ft of warehouse space and operates 14 depots and railway terminals across the UK.
The group acquired the trade and assets of the intermodal rail terminal located at Coatbridge from Freightliner in April 2024, in a move which John G Russell said would strengthen its logistics and rail freight capabilities in Scotland, the UK intermodal market and the container storage and transport sectors.
Turning to the fall in profit, the review said: “This reflects the loss-making operation of the rail terminal, in addition to the impact of significant capital expenditure in the year and a large investment in back-office staff to support the size and scale of the business.”
Despite the reduced profit, the review remained upbeat. It stated: “The group uses non-financial key performance indicators to measure operational performance, including asset utilisation, driver and vehicle efficiencies, vehicle reliability, space and capacity utilisation, labour efficiency and accident rates.
“With this background the directors have reviewed the group’s financial position and having regard to the group’s funding arrangements are satisfied that the group is well positioned to manage its financial position and its business risks successfully.”
