The delivery firm dubbed the ‘worst’ in Britain swung to a loss last year after it was hit by inflation and a shortage of staff.
Evri, formerly called Hermes, reported a loss of £77 million for the year to February 25, 2023, while turnover stayed flat at £1.46 billion. It made a £48 million profit the year before.
The firm blamed ‘challenging trading conditions’ and rising fuel costs for its vehicles. While worker shortages had eased since last year, Evri said it still had to deal with ‘localised resource shortages’.
Evri is controlled by private equity giant Advent International, which bought a 75 per cent stake in 2020 and owns other British assets such as defence group Cobham. The remaining quarter of the business is held by its former parent, German ecommerce giant Otto Group.
‘Worst’ in Britain: Evri has developed a dire reputation among customers
Evri has developed a dire reputation among customers.
In a survey published in January by consumer website MoneySavingExpert, it was ranked as the worst parcel delivery firm in the UK last year, beating rival Yodel, owned by the Barclay family.
The damning verdict came despite the firm rebranding itself to shake off its reputation for late deliveries as well as losing and damaging parcels.
The swing to a loss also seemed to have weighed on the pay packets of the company’s executives.
Evri reported that total pay for its directors amounted to £1.46 million, down from £1.76 million doled out the previous year.
