Eddie Stobart eyes acquisitions after 8pc rise in revenue

EDDIE Stobart will target further acquisitions this year as it looks to capitalise on demand from online retailers to ship goods to people’s doors.

The company, reporting its first set of results since it floated on Aim in April, has made a number of purchases this year, including iforce, an online retail delivery firm.

Alex Laffey, the chief executive, said the company would look to buy up other businesses to complement its existing operations without affecting its profitability, and was concentrating specifically on growth in online retail and the manufacturing, industrial and bulk sectors. It has also recently bought two smaller businesses: Speedy Freight and the remaining 50pc stake in the Logistics People it did not already own.

In the first half, the company increased revenues by 7.7pc to £286.8m. But it sank to a pre-tax loss of £6.3m in the period from a profit of £1.7m the year before, which was attributed to £12.6m of exceptional items. Shares rose 1.5p to end at 160p.