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Wincanton took the loss of Tesco in its stride with an increase in profits

Logistics company Wincanton has reported a 3.6% jump in half-year pre-tax profits.

The UK and Ireland supply chain solutions company said profits were £20.3m for the six months ending 30 September 2017.

Revenue increased 3.4% to £581m, though the company said growth was “partly offset” due to the loss of its Tesco contract.

However, an investment in new contracts resulted in net debt increasing 35% to £43.5m.

Wincanton chief executive Adrian Colman said the group had delivered a “good overall performance”.

“The group continues to perform well from a stable platform, which will provide the capacity for future investment to deliver against our organic growth strategy,” he said.

“We look forward to making further strategic and operational progress to support long-term returns for stakeholders.”

Wincanton is undertaking a “restructuring programme” to reduce costs after it experienced “some challenging trading performance” in the first half of the year.

It said the savings would “position the business to be more competitive in the future”.

Over the period, the company signed a new four-year deal with Ikea to operate the Swedish furniture giant’s two new distribution centres.

A five-year deal with Wilko to manage all of its transport operations, a three-year warehousing contract with Argos, and a three-year deal with Wickes to operate its home delivery were also agreed.