Company news
The transport and logistics division of French conglomerate Bolloré maintained its high level of profitability in the first half of the year thanks to a buoyant performance from its subsidiaries in a number of major markets.
Operating income totalled €290 million compared to €288 million in the same period last year.
H1 turnover generated by subsidiaries Bolloré Logistics and Bolloré Africa Logistics, totalled €2.97 billion, an increase of 5% on a comparable basis with the first six months of 2014.
The resutls take into account "the improved performance of transportation and logistics activities, reflecting the strength of freight forwarding globally and port developments in Africa," the group underlined.
Bolloré Logistics posted a like-for-like increase in turnover of 7% to €1.68 billion, "benefiting from an increase in volumes transported, the Asia-US and Asia-Europe trade lanes being particularly dynamic," Bolloré added.
Highlights of the first half-year also included "a good level of activity on the French market, notably in industrial projects in the energy and automobile sectors," as well as in the UK, Germany, Spain and Belgium.
In the Asia-Pacific zone, increasing business had been driven by Bolloré Logistics' units in China, Singapore, the Philippines, Japan and Australia had performed well.
The subsidiary had also posted good results in the Americas, largely due to stong growth in the US and Mexico.
As for Bolloré Africa Logistics (BAL) despite an environment marked by a steep decline in commodity prices, the subsidiary saw its turnover rise 2% on comparable basis to H1 2014 to €1.3 billion.
This was largely due "an increase in the volume of traffic handled at African ports and the development of logistics activities."
Bolloré noted buoyant port terminal business in Ghana, Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Guinea and Sierra Leone as well as growing transport and logistics activity in Tanzania, Uganda,Congo and Zambia.
Pursuing its development in Africa, BAL is increasing its investment in port terminals, notably at Pointe-Noire in Congo and at Lomé, in Togo.
It is also studying other port terminal opportunities on the African continent as well as in Asia and Central America.