UTi reports $203 million loss for year

CEO of the forwarding and logistics company says it is implementing a new strategic direction.

   UTi Worldwide reported a $203.2 million loss in its 2014 fiscal year, which ended on Jan. 31, 2015, compared with a $83.3 million loss the prior year.
   The forwarding and logistics company said it had revenues of $4.18 billion in fiscal 2015, 5.8 percent less than the prior fiscal year and that net revenues — revenues minus purchased transportation costs — were $1.46 billion, 4 percent lower than the previous year.
   Edward G. Feitzinger, chief executive officer, said, “Fiscal 2014 was a challenging year for the company. Our results for the fourth quarter were particularly disappointing and included a number of one-time charges that stemmed from our January restructuring and reorganization efforts. Importantly, the fourth quarter represents the final chapter under the prior playbook. “
   In the fourth quarter, the company had a loss of $105 million, compared with a loss of $54.9 million the fourth quarter of the prior year.
   Total revenues in the fourth quarter were $964.6 million, 10 percent less than the fourth quarter of the prior year.
   UTi said “The decrease in revenue and net revenue was primarily related to lower air and ocean yields and volumes in freight forwarding as well as the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the Euro and South African Rand.”
   Starting in late January, Feitzinger said UTi “began implementing our new strategic direction for our freight forwarding business. We took decisive actions to right-size our cost structure, which is expected to result in $33 million in annual cost savings in addition to the $45 million in annual cost savings we already delivered exiting fiscal year 2015.”
   “We streamlined our geographic and leadership structure to maximize the growth potential of the freight forwarding business. We also made progress improving our working capital efficiency, which we expect will continue going forward,” Feitzinger added. “I am pleased with the actions taken so far in my relatively short tenure as CEO, and look forward to capturing their full benefits in fiscal 2016. We have identified the needed changes, made many of the required improvements, and geared the organization for success in the long term.”