TRUCKING giant Stobart Group said it is confident it will be able to “deliver significant shareholder value” despite posting a fall in income and profits.

The Carlisle-based group’s revenue fell to £278.5m in the six months to the end of August from £281.1m in the same period a year earlier, while pre-tax profits dipped to £6.6m from £14.7m due to restructuring costs in its chilled distribution business, transaction costs and higher interest charges.

The underlying pre-tax profit stood at £13.2m compared with £16.4m.

Although best known for its fleet of trucks, Stobart also has estates, air and biomass services, and infrastructure and civil engineering divisions.

The group said that transport delivered a “solid performance” and other parts of the business are “well positioned to deliver growth”, although it is scaling back and restructuring its under-performing chilled business.

Chief executive Andrew Tinkler said: “We have worked hard to improve margins and profitability in our core transport business despite tough trading conditions.

“We are well underway with delivering the stated plan for the group.”

The acquisition of Autologic Holdings in August means Stobart now has a market-leading share of the automotive logistics market.