Pentalver stays in profit despite £12.2m revenue fall

Pentalver Transport, the Maersk-owned container haulage, storage and maintenance firm, says that a strong focus on cost control and driving efficiencies in the operation have helped it stay profitable through the recession.

Its accounts for the year to 31 December 2009 show turnover falling to £51.4m down from £63.6m in 2008 with pre-tax profit also markedly down to £1.8m from £6.8m the year before.

Its sister firm, haulier Pentalver Transport (Cannock), saw turnover slide by £4.4m to £23.8m and pre-tax profit was cut to £1.1m from £2.4m in the previous period.

However, Chris Lawrenson, who joined the firm in October last year, remains relatively upbeat. "We have to take some success out of the fact that we have kept our head above water.

"We had to scale back the operation to be as lean as we possibly could. We vastly reduced our cost base but suffered from rate cuts along the way.

"Your planners are vitally important nowadays - you have got to be able to sweat the assets or you've got no chance."

A total of 80 staff were cut from the two operations during the year, which Lawrenson describes as "very good people".

He says that in 2010 the transport operation has been "very buoyant" for the past three or four months, but warns over the potential effects of the Comprehensive Spending Review on consumer confidence and therefore container volumes.

However, the dockside operations have been weaker this year, with the effects of slow steaming by the shipping lines reducing storage volumes - its Felixstowe site has seen storage cut by 50% this year - and faster export of containers without refurbishment both hitting turnover.

However, both companies will invest in new vehicles next year and in new container handling equipment at a number of sites.