AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch logistics company TNT Express warned on Wednesday that low growth in Europe would hit margins in the third quarter and announced it was setting aside 50 million euros to settle an anti-competitiveness investigation by French authorities.
The company, which last year made an operating profit of 88 million euros ($113 million) on revenue of 1.7 billion euros, said the size of the fine by the French competition regulator following its industrywide investigation into anti-competitive behavior in the French parcels market, had not yet been set, but that it would settle.
TNT Express, which was forced to come up with a standalone strategy last year after the European Commission blocked its plan to merge with U.S. rival UPS, also warned that poor trading conditions in Europe would hit margins.
The company said that it would no longer hit its forecast of an adjusted operating margin of 8 percent for its Europe Main and Other Europe and Americas divisions, which had been based on the assumption that Europe's economy would grow by between 2 and 3 percent. The company did not offer a revised forecast.
TNT's chief executive Tex Gunning said the revision was "disappointing", but insisted the company remained on the right track.
The company's turnaround program was "solid", he said, but would "realistically take three to five years for the full benefits to come through."
(Reporting By Thomas Escritt; Editing by Greg Mahlich)