Framptons has hit out at some hauliers for being "too quick" to cut rates for jobs. Richard Fry, director and general manager, says: "Some firms are often too quick to cut their rates just to get jobs.
"Sometimes people in this business don't think of the long-term consequences for business of quoting very low rates. We have put a fuel surcharge into our prices and we have been pressing other hauliers to do a sim-ilar thing."
Pre-tax profit for the Somerset-based firm increased
to £71,773 for the year to July 2007, up from £44,007 the previous year, while operating profit also grew to £173,875 from £130,854. Turnover rose to £9.1m - up from the £8.4m in the previous 12-month period.
The directors state that they regard local competition "as the key business risk".
Framptons is currently expanding its warehousing facilities. Fry says: "We have opened a new depot outside Shepton Mallet, we plan to open another new purpose-built one in the next 12 months, and we are also buying more vehicles."
He adds: "We have had some contract wins recently, although we can't say too much at the moment." The company expects its current healthy trading position "to continue in future periods". The directors did not recommend a dividend.
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