12 April 2021 –
“As each month goes along, the processes get easier, we’re able to handle more volume and we see it as a great opportunity…to win new customers from the competition”, Robert Ross told Proactive
Border disruption brought about by the UK’s new post-Brexit customs framework with the EU is a “net positive” for freight management firm Xpediator PLC (LON:XPD), according to comments made by its chief executive.
Speaking to Proactive on Monday, Robert Ross said while the first months of the post-Brexit period had been “challenging”, things were now starting to improve.
“The processes [at the border] were a lot more complicated than we expected…but as we’ve got used to them and recruited significant numbers of staff it has settled down. While volumes may be down between the UK and Europe there is potential to make additional money by completing the customs clearance”, the CEO said.
“We don’t yet know the quantum, whether it will be a significant plus or a smaller one for the business, but we definitely see it as a net positive.
“As each month goes along, the processes get easier, we’re able to handle more volume and we see it as a great opportunity…to win new customers from the competition”, he added.
The CEO’s assessment followed the company’s full-year results on Monday morning when it reported that trading in the first quarter of 2021, the first months of the UK’s new trading relationship with the EU, had been “ahead of management expectations” and that post-Brexit transportation complexity will require is customers to acquire additional services, which will be net profitable for the group.
The company’s chairman Alex Borrelli also said the firm is examining “strategic acquisitions with a focus on building a scalable and risk adjusted platform to support an expanding portfolio of freight management companies across the UK and Europe”.
Shares in Xpediator were up 5% at 59.6p in late-afternoon trading on Monday.
