Japanese logistics giant Yamato Holdings is expected to report an operating profit of about 5 billion yen (US$44.4 million) for the April-June period, turning around from a 10-billion-yen loss a year before, the Nikkei Asian Review reported.
Last year, the Tokyo-based company had taken orders beyond its capacity as demand for e-commerce deliveries surged, causing costs for overtime and outsourcing deliveries to surge and pushing it
into the red in the January-March quarter of 2017.
The company subsequently began curbing shipment volumes in October to reduce these expenses and at the same time it raised prices for consumers by 15 percent and negotiated higher prices with
corporate customers.
Focusing on big players
The Nikkei report said that of roughly 1 million business clients, Yamato focused on its 1,100 big customers first. Roughly 40% of these customers opted out of Yamato services as a result of
negotiations. But Amazon Japan and others that had enjoyed significant discounts accepted higher prices, prompting smaller businesses to follow suit.
The Nikkei report said that Yamato plans to announce its April-June results on July 31. For the full year ending March 2019, the company likely will keep its earnings projections of a 63% jump in
operating profit to 58 billion yen on sales of 1.6 trillion yen, up 4%.
Nol van Fenema
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