Deutsche Post EBITA flattered by Eur70 mln Postbank IPO gain
Deutsche Post World Net AG is set to disclose Friday that its first-half EBITA had a boost of about 70 mln eur as a result of the IPO of banking arm Postbank AG last month, analysts polled by AFX News said.
First-half EBITA is predicted to be in the range of 1.60-1.66 bln eur compared with 1.47 bln a year earlier, with sales at 21.06-21.13 bln against 19.2 bln.
Analysts said the Postbank IPO-related gain of about 70 mln eur lifted second quarter EBITA by at least 41 pct to 729 mln from 518 mln eur.
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein however said in a note the stronger EBITA could be offset at the pretax level because of significantly higher interest payments.
Most analysts anticipate the company will stick to its forecast of 5-10 pct growth rates for full year 2004 EBITA although the Postbank contribution to EBITA in the second quarter may well nudge management to say this year’s EBITA will be at the higher end of its previously announced range.
Some analysts have raised their forecasts on Deutsche Post’s Express business following the consensus-busting quarterly results of US peer United Parcel Service.
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein said profit growth in Express could be in excess of 100 pct in the second quarter while HVB said Express and Logistics divisions would show relatively higher growth rates because of the low figures for the same period last year.
