“Year-start initial estimates pointed to 15%. At the beginning of 2014, we also forecast market growth and said this year’s profit would be impacted by rising fuel prices. We are still upbeat about yearend figures,” says Adrian Mihai, one of the three shareholders of the company, which leads on the local courier services market.
The business was set up in 1998 and after 15 years, in 2013, it reached sales of RON280 million (EUR64 million) and almost 1,200 employees, according to Finance Ministry data. In the past six years, the company’s total net profit hit EUR55 million.
The three entrepreneurs developed the business step by step, going from three deliveries per day to 65,000 deliveries per day at present. Almost 20,000 deliveries are generated by orders from online stores.
“The rising domestic consumption generated higher deliveries in all fields of activity. Another significant increase was also brought by e-commerce. Amid the growing demand, this year’s investments have largely been and will be aimed at developing new integrated services for e-commerce, beside our constant investments in car fleet, IT, training and development”.
E-commerce clients generate a little more than 30% of the company’s revenue.
In 2013, the three entrepreneurs invested over EUR7 million in the car fleet, in IT, in training the team’s members and developing headquarters in and outside Bucharest.
“The entire courier services market expanded. The only moves that will influence our profit are the fuel excise and the special constructions tax”.
FAN Courier is the only major player on Romania’s courier services market in which foreign investors have not bought stakes.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)