Deutsche Post tackles costs ahead of planned 2007 monopoly loss
Deutsche Post World Net AG is targeting cost-cuts ahead of the loss of its monopoly at the end of 2007 by outsourcing some services and employees and possibly passing on some costs to corporate clients, chief executive Klaus Zumwinkel told Sueddeutsche Zeiutng in an interview to be published tomorrow.
‘If we should notably lose sales, then at least we can react on the cost side,’ Zumwinkel said, adding the company may for instance cut down on quantity discounts for corporate clients.
But he said the logistics giant is currently more concerned about competition from electronic communication than from other companies.
Zumwinkel also called upon other EU member states to liberalise their postal markets to create a level playing field within the region.
‘Deutsche Post could even live with being exposed to competition two or three years earlier than other postal companies’ as long as it is clear that other countries have plans to liberalise the logistics market, he said.
‘And we have to able to find (business) we lose here abroad,’ Zumwinkel added.
Commenting on express mail unit DHL’s troubled US business, he said while the company will never become market leader in the US, it sees the business improving slowly.
For this year, he reaffirmed the unit is seen posting an operating loss of up to 300 mln eur this year and reaching break even by the end of 2006.
Turning to mergers and acquisitions, Zumwinkel reiterated the company has no plans of selling its majortiy stake in Deutsche Postbank AG.
Meanwhile, he said Postbank is in a ‘comfortable position’ to buy BHW Holding AG, which has a market value of 2.7 bln eur and specialises in building savings contracts, life insurance, investment funds and mortgages.
‘But … we will not pay any price,’ he said. ‘We would rather pass on a deal.’
