Speedy strengthens

25 May 2021

Speedy’s full year results announced today for the year ended 31 March 2021 show the business emerging strongly from the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and anticipating sustainable growth. 

Group revenue for the period, excluding disposals, fell to £359.4m (2020: £402.5m). Whilst revenue declined in the first half of the year, it recovered in the second half as customers returned to work.  

In the fourth quarter, UK and Ireland core hire revenue was 4% ahead of the prior year. In April and May 2021 revenue was approximately 2% higher than the comparative period in 2019 and adjusted profit before tax rose by over 20% from £14m to £17m. Asset utilisation for the second half year increased to 58.8% (2020: 55.9%).

In April 2020 up to 50% of staff were placed on furlough leave and 66% of depots were initially closed, whilst maintaining national coverage. Speedy states that 13 depots were permanently closed and a further 22 outlets are being consolidated into six larger locations. 

No colleagues were on furlough beyond 30 September, although around 200 roles were made redundant during the year. The head count in the UK and Ireland is currently 3,303 (2020: 3,464).

Chief executive Russell Down is focused on Speedy’s strong recovery in the second half. “The resilient performance of our business during this unprecedented period is testament to the strength of our model, hard work of all my colleagues and strong operational delivery,” he says. 

● Speedy will continue to invest in sustainable products as part of its ‘Energise’ strategy to reduce the carbon output of the hire fleet through investment in solar, hybrid, electric and hydrogen technology. I’ll be reporting in more depth on this soon, but you can read about green fleet additions the company has already made here.