Swiss Post’s profits down

Swiss Post has announced that in the first three quarters of 2016 it generated a Group profit of 466m francs, down from 503m francs in 2015, while operating profit (EBIT) decreased from 640m francs to 593m francs. Swiss Post said that the drop in profits was “mainly due to the lower result from the communication and logistics markets; the decline in the volume of addressed letters was more pronounced and pressure on parcel margins remains high”.

In the communication market, Swiss Post recorded an operating profit of 94m francs in the first three quarters of 2016. This was down substantially from last year’s 166m francs – and Swiss Post said that the decline in profit generated by Post Offices & Sales was “principally due to the Group unit’s new internal cost allocation”.

The decline in the volume of addressed letters continued, with a 4% drop.

Swiss Post concluded its report with a very cautious outlook: “Given the current tense market environment, it will become more and more difficult for Swiss Post to achieve the financial goals set by its owner. As things stand today, Swiss Post nonetheless expects to meet these goals in 2016. Group profit is likely to be below the previous year’s level.”