It is pleasing to report another year of progress by the Group. In the last year we have faced the most challenging economic conditions for Smiths News PLC since becoming a public company in 2006.
In my time at Smiths News, I have become accustomed to seeing the pride, professionalism, focus and determination that is the hallmark of our staff at our depots across the length and breadth of our network.
This year I have witnessed something more. It has been a year of unprecedented growth and our management and staff have demonstrated both the agillity and capability to manage massive change. The complexity of absorbing £459m of new contracts would be more than enough for most companies to manage. But this has been achieved without disruption to service, whilst we restructured the organisation, introduced and operated new systems and processes and captured significant efficiencies.
To read the rest of the Chairman's Statement 2011 click here