French logistics provider Gefco has reported a turnover of almost €3.8m for 2011, a 12.9% increase compared to 2010. Operating income reached a record €223m according to the company, representing a 5.9% turnover. The company said that the opening of new subsidiaries and major external growth enable it to win new customers across a range of industry sectors. Gefco reported more than €1.4m in turnover in 2011 from major industrial customers outside the PSA Group, a 19.2% increase year on year.
Gefco is looking for international logistics growth in automotive outbound, inbound overland and overseas services. In 2011, opened new subsidiaries in Bulgaria and Kazakhstan and strengthened intra-regional flows in Asia, Eastern Europe and South America.
The acquisition in June 2011 of a 70% stake in Italian provider Gruppo Mercurio has enabled it to consolidate its international position and speed up development in Asia, particularly in India. The company reported rapid growth in South America, within an increase of 15%, and in Central and Eastern Europe, where it saw a 25% increase in business.
The company said that 2012 will be a decisive year for its business aims following parent company PSA's decision in February to open its capital for sale. PSA Peugeot Citroën is to divest part of its ownership in Gefco in an effort to raise cash and support on-going investment in its automotive division.
However, its existing services for the parent company have also recently brought benefits following GM's decision to take a 7% stake in PSA, which includes plans to establish "a strategic, commercial cooperation" with Gefco. The company is expected to become GM's main logistics provider in the second quarter of this year and will stand to benefit from the launch of future joint projects that were mooted at PSA's recent European Works Council meeting. The company used the meeting to announce the launch of five working groups as part of the alliance with GM which include two groups studying the feasibility of developments on shared platforms in the large sedan and roomy compact segments, as well as a group to work on a small car programme for emerging markets, with a possible initial application in Latin America.
A fourth group is looking at a programme to co-develop a low-carbon small car platform, with the last group working on the DCT gearbox programme, suspended as part of the 2012 cost reduction plan.
However, PSA's sale of Gefco assets could potentially benefit the logistics provider by allowing it to invest further in its profitable operations with some distance from PSA's cost-cutting operations, particularly as the group slows its investment in places such as India, where Gefco now has a strong foothold.
An increase in Gefco's independence from PSA might also help the company expand its business beyond the French carmaker; third-party customers represented 38% of Gefco's revenue in 2011.
