TOLL Holdings, Australia's biggest logistics company, has posted a 53 per cent surge in half-year net profit for the period ending Dec 31 to A$164 million (US$165 million) from A$107 million the previous year.

    Toll Holdings profit increased because of acquisitions, reported Bloomberg, adding that the company made more than 60 acquisitions since 2000 and added six in the half-year period.

    "Recent acquisitions include WT Sea Air and Genesis in the UK, SAT in the UAE and McLaughlin Freightlines in Australia. All these businesses are expected to add to the group's existing performance in the year ahead," said a company statement accompanying the results.

    "After another year of growth, Toll's Global Forwarding division is now just outside the world's top 10 generating revenue for the half of A$901 million. As we predicted, it is achieving improved margins with both air and sea volumes growing strongly over this period," said the company statement.

    According to its financial report, ocean freight volumes have risen 150 per cent year on year to 260,000 TEU for the period.

    Air freight volumes have increased 40 per cent to more than 75,000 tonnes for the six months ending December 2010. Its newly acquired Genesis and WT SEA Air in the UK have contributed the majority of this growth.

    Its Toll Global Resources has also marked good performance with revenue rising seven per cent to A$371 million and first half earnings topping A$50 million for the first time. "The strength of Toll's presence in the resources sector has proven to be a real advantage for the company through the global financial crisis."

    Bloomberg also reported that Toll's express business, encompassing courier services for freight and documents increased profits 33 per cent to A$94.9 million, partly because of its acquisition of Japan's Footwork express.

(Source:http://www.schednet.com)