Partner Article

Northgate sees uncertain road ahead

VEHICLE hire giant Northgate today targeted further cost cutting and cash generation in its latest trading update as its UK and Spanish markets remain on uncertain ground.

The Darlington company said it reduced its fleet from 60,900 to 58,800 in the period from May to September, with the number of vehicles on hire down by 500 on the same period last year.

However, the firm said it expects the number of vehicles on hire to increase in the quarter to Christmas, in line with prior years’ trends.

Bad debts in Spain were a key area of focus and the four month period to 31 August 2010 shows a bad debt charge of €2.0m, a €1.4m improvement compared to €3.4m for the same period last year and in line with our planned levels.

“Overall we are trading in line with our plans despite macroeconomic conditions continuing to adversely affect the Group’s markets, with the outlook for the UK and Spanish economies remaining uncertain,” the company said.

“Our focus therefore remains on hire rate improvement, efficient fleet management, further cost reductions and cash generation.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .