DX (Group) plc - Final audited results for the 52 weeks ended 1 July 2023

DX (Group) plc, final year results show another year of strong growth - well positioned for further progress.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue up 10%, driven by strong performances at both DX Freight and DX Express
• Group operating margin¹ up to 6.7% (2022: 5.8%); target remains 7.5% -10.0%
• Capital investment of £10.9m (2022: £6.2m) in depot network expansion, parcel handling equipment, electric vehicles (“EVs”) and IT
• Net cash up 39% to £37.6m (2022: £27.0m)
• Reported basic earnings per share up 63% to 3.9p (2022: 2.4p)
• Proposed final dividend of 1.0p per share, giving a total of 1.5p per share for FY23 (2022: nil)

Operational Highlights     

DX Freight:

• Revenue up 10% to £282.8m (2022: £256.9m) and operating profit up 22% to £37.8m (2022: £31.1m)
• Divisional operating margin up to 13.4% (2022: 12.1%), driven by further improvements in productivity and operational efficiency
• Strong customer retention levels and significant new customer wins supported by continued achievement of high levels of customer service
• Two new depots opened at Paisley and West Bromwich, and two depots expanded at Plymouth and Heathrow
• Secured 15 new sites from the Administrators of Tuffnells Parcels Express in June 2023 – a major development for the Group, with benefits for DX Express as well as DX Freight
• Over 700 former Tuffnells customers added; and over 350 former Tuffnells employees have joined DX

DX Express:

• Revenue up 10% to £188.4m (2022: £171.3m) and operating profit up 22% to £17.7m (2022: £14.5m)
• Divisional operating margin increased to 9.4% (2022: 8.4%), driven by healthy levels of new business in Parcels, which outweighed expected revenue erosion at Document Exchange
• Continued investment in IT platform to enhance customer experience
• Five new depots were opened at Basildon, Plymouth, Haydock, Bracknell and Deeside

Overheads:

• Overheads as a percentage of revenue increased slightly to 5.5% (2022: 5.1%, excluding the exceptional items). This reflected improvements to IT infrastructure, Board changes and legal costs

Outlook

• Q1 FY24 trading was in line with management expectations
• Final year of three-year c.£20-25m investment programme to be completed in FY24 together with the construction of a new regional hub in Nottingham for c.£12m
• Supports achievement of growth plans and margin targets
• DX expected to make further progress underpinned by a strong balance sheet   

Paul Ibbetson, Chief Executive Officer of DX (Group) plc, commented: 

“The Group has delivered another strong performance, above our original expectations. Both divisions contributed increased revenue, margin and profit, which supported our return to the dividend list.

“The financial strength of the business, with its strong cash generation and balance sheet, has been key to our ongoing success, enabling us to continue to invest significantly in both divisions. We have invested across all areas of operations – including the depot network, parcel handling equipment, electric vehicle fleet and IT – and this will continue in the new financial year.

“We are mindful of the current economic headwinds, however, given the strong platform that we have established and the encouraging levels of new business that we have secured in the opening months of the new financial year, we look forward to another year of further progress.”

Notes

1    See notes 2 and 18 to the Financial Statements for details of alternative performance measures (“APMs”) used, which are non-IFRS measures. The notes include details of where reconciliations of APMs to IFRS reported measures can be found.