Northgate on track as tough markets continue

13th Sep 2011 07:14

Commercial vehicle hire company Northgate said despite tough economic conditions hitting its UK and Spanish markets, trading between May and September has been in line with the company expectations. The Darlington based group said the restructuring of the UK business continues to progress in line with management expectations, as it improves operational efficiency and commercial sales organisation. Underlying UK hire revenue per rented vehicle increased over 1% since the start of the financial year.In Spain underlying hire revenue per vehicle was unchanged for the four months to 31 August 2011.Northgate said it is also making progress in its Spain debt management. The bad debt charge for the four months to 31 August 2011 was €1.1m compared to €2.0m for the same period last year.Northgate said, "We are maintaining our focus on increasing the group's return on capital employed through hire rate improvement and increased operating efficiency. We continue to reduce our net debt."---CJ