Menzies set to update on divisions review

Logistics group John Menzies said it expects to make a “firm announcement” by March regarding the review into splitting its aviation and distribution arms.

The Edinburgh-based group said it has “continued to trade well since the half year and the board is confident of meeting its full-year expectations”.

It added that trading at Menzies Aviation is in line, with positive underlying trading across the network “tempered by the impact of one-off events such as Hurricane Irma… and airline failures within the EMEA region”.

The firm also addressed its $202 million (£152m) acquisition in February of Asig, saying it is “pleased” with the integration of the US aviation services business. “Milestones are being met and we are confident that the full year synergy target will be exceeded.”

The group’s chief financial officer Giles Wilson revealed to The Scotsman about a year ago that Menzies had appointed financial adviser Rothschild to examine the prospect of splitting up the group. “We expect to be able to make a firm announcement on the process to be followed by the time of our full-year results in March 2018,” Menzies said yesterday. It comes after it dropped plans in August for a £40m merger between its distribution arm and parcels business DX Group.

Numis analyst Steve Woolf praised progress at Menzies’ distribution business by diversifying into areas such as parcels and logistics, “and we believe there is scope to develop both an organic standalone strategy, or one in combination with another operator”. 0 CFO Giles Wilson had noted the hire of Rothschild