Polish Post on brink of bankruptcy
The Poczta Polska (PP) state-owned postal service may soon face bankruptcy, warned the company’s officials in the Sejm yesterday. PP is in desperate need of a development plan, state subsidies of ZL500m and new regulations that would tone down the liberalisation of the postal deliveries market. The crucial year for PP is 2006, when Poland complies with the EU’s postal services liberalisation. With regards to letters, PP has been a monopoly, but it is now expected to lose one-third to two-thirds of that market. When the changes come, they may cause PP to post a net loss of ZL330m. If that is the case the company will have to sack some 15,000 employees to sustain profitability. Even then bankruptcy will still be a likely scenario. A positive scenario includes higher revenues and profits, but that will require nearly ZL3bn in investments by 2006. PP claims it can generate or borrow most of that sum, but some form of state aid will still be needed (cash or tax relief).
