Maritime retains drivers with loyalty incentives
Maritime Transport said it had experienced the lowest driver turnover in a decade after investing in its staff, paying bonuses and providing quality facilities to its employees.
The company said the driver shortage represented a risk to all haulage operators and so it had used its profits to boost loyalty within the workforce.
Maritime said it also provided a redesigned driver uniform during 2024 and spent £49m on fixed assets, including a rolling programme of fleet renewals using fuel efficient HGVs and it boosted its trailer numbers too.
The comments came in a business review for the year ending 31 December 2024, which showed revenues increased by 4.3% to £422m, despite disruptions to supply chains caused by the Red Sea crisis.
Maritime Transport said: “Gross profit for the year was £100.1m, which at 23.7% is below the 26.3% generated in 2023.
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“Several factors contributed to this, including the mix of work and resource utilised, the aforementioned uniform refresh and payment of a workforce bonus in recognition of our colleagues’ long service and continued contribution to the ongoing success of the business.
“Profit before tax was £7.1m compared to £20.7m in the prior year, with overheads again reflecting the rewards the company shared to incentivise the loyalty and continued efforts of the workforce to manage and drive the business forward.
“A shortage of drivers represents a risk to all operators in our sector. The directors have managed this risk by providing several pay increases in recent years and by ensuring a high standard of facilities and support for our valued drivers.
“This approach has resulted in the company reporting the lowest driver churn statistics for a decade.”
During the period, Maritime also expanded its participation in the government-backed ZEHID programme and secured 54 zero-emission HGVs, as well as the charging infrastructure to operate them across its network.
The company added: “It is anticipated that volumes will increase moving into 2025 and the company will be well placed to capitalise on the opportunities in the marketplace.”
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Swiss-based global logistics company Medlog acquired Maritime Transport in September; the company said it continued to operate independently with all senior management remaining in place.
Source: Motor Transport
