DX Services

Optical parcel courier DX Services has celebrated its first six months on the stock market by signing a preferred supplier deal with the FMO.

DX Sevices was created from a demerger of the Hays DX business six months ago and before that was known as OCS. DX's turnover for its first half year showed a slight increase to £66.8m, producing operating profits of £15.4m.

In the deal with the Federation of Manufacturing Opticians, DX Services has created a customer support line for FMO members, who will also benefit from preferential rates and support packages.

Vice chairman of the FMO, Andrew Actman, said the deal was part of the Federation's commitment to create long-term benefits for its members.
Peter Brougham, chief executive of DX, said: 'We are delighted to have received preferred supplier status and this will enable us to work more effectively with our important optical customer base.'

The optical delivery side of the group created about £7.5m worth of business during the half year and forms the lion's share of DX's parcel division. During the period the parcel division turned in sales of £21.3m, slightly down on the same period of last year.

Brougham said he wanted to reassure optical customers that opticians remained a core part of the parcel division and the demerger would not impact the service customers received.

'We have a network that is very efficient at delivering parcels through the front door of retail outlets,' he said.

On the creation of DX Services plc he said there would be no changes to the levels of service offered and DX remained committed to customers, however small they may be.

DX ran an open day for optical customers a short time ago, said Brougham. 'We asked them what they wanted from us.' He said the answer was reassurance, and that 'we would carry on doing what we are doing, and that we would continue to be here'. 'We will', he told optician.