Broekman Logistics’ international freight forwarding office in Belgium has relocated in the port of Antwerp.
The move to Noorderlaan is in line with Broekman’s updated strategy to focus on, among other things, expanding its freight forwarding activities, as HLPFI reported here.
The new location – Noorderlaan 133, 2030 Antwerp – is more easily accessible and enables the division to grow, said Broekman.
In 2021, the gross sales of the company, with its headquarters in Rotterdam and with branches in India, the Czech Republic, Poland and Belgium, rose by more than 40 percent from EUR242 million (USD243.9 million) to EUR345 million (USD347.7 million). Despite achieving strong operational EBITDA results in two of its three divisions last year, the overall result was negative, said Broekman, due to restructuring costs and impairment charges of past investments.
For 2022, a further improvement in turnover and a positive bottom line result is expected. Rik Pek, ceo of Broekman Logistics, said: “We are pleased with this result. 2021 was a turbulent year for us. The pandemic caused disruption for the entire logistics industry, as it did for us. Nevertheless, we did well. In 2022, we expect further growth in sales and also a recovery in results. This is the effect of our changed strategy. Our focus is to provide solutions for specific end markets. This is highly appreciated by our existing clients and also resulted in new, long-term clients at multiple locations.”
Nicolas Parey, chief financial officer of Broekman Logistics, added: “We are very satisfied with the EBITDA of the divisions forwarding and shipping and breakbulk terminals. We had to improve the warehousing division. The recent sale of the former VLS activity in Antwerp will have a positive impact on the EBITDA in this division. We are confident that the course that has been determined will lead to a bottom-line positive result for the entire group in 2022.”
