Sirva to sell transportation units

Chicago-based moving and storage conglomerate Sirva Inc. is selling its specialized transportation business in North America to a group of its North American Van Lines agents. Sirva said all three of those businesses combined accounted for about 16% of its operating revenue through the first half of 2004, generating a small operating loss for the company.

Despite the shutdown of those units and the resulting charges, Sirva still expects to post earnings of $1.15 to $1.18 per share and, in 2005, believes it can achieve plus 10% net revenue growth and plus 20% earnings growth as well.

Sirva also has plans to offer its European specialized transportation subsidiary and global logistics operations for sale.

"We now [plan] to focus entirely on our high-growth, high-return relocation business and related segments," said Brian Kelley, Sirva's president & CEO. "These are our core strategic businesses where we have competitive advantage and can deliver continued strong growth in revenue, earnings and cash flow."