Austrian Post: revenue of the Parcel & Logistics Division increased by 70.7 %

Ongoing high parcel volumes in H1, continuing letter mail decline

• Parcel volumes in Austria +20 %, Turkey +24 %, CEE +21 %
• Letter mail volumes –3 %, direct mail items +2 %

H1 2021 revenue increase of +28.4 % to EUR 1,260.4m (+12.0 % excl. Aras Kargo)

• • Mail +3.0 % to EUR 608.2m
  • Parcel & Logistics +70.7 % to EUR 628.1m (+27.0 % excl. Aras Kargo)
  • Retail & Bank +18.9 % to EUR 34.0m

Improved cash flow, higher balance sheet total

• Operating free cash flow increase of EUR 45.3m to EUR 139.1m
• Balance sheet total up to EUR 2.8bn due to bank expansion

Positive outlook for 2021

• Expected revenue increase of about 15 %
• Targeted earnings (EBIT) increase of at least 20 %
• Focus on investment programme to secure performance capacity

The company says: “Austrian Post continued to be adversely affected by restrictions and consequences related to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, on balance the first half of 2021 still proved to be very successful. First half-year 2021 revenue and earnings increased against the backdrop of a significant impact in the comparable prior-year period. In particular, national and international parcel volumes continued to show good growth rates. In contrast, the structural decline of mail products continued. Pandemic-related restrictions still impacted business activities of several customer segments.

Austrian Post’s Group revenue rose by 28.4 % in the first half of 2021 to EUR 1,260.4m. The current period clearly demonstrates the structural change with increased importance of the parcel business in a divisional comparison. In the first half-year, the Parcel & Logistics Division reported an ongoing upward trend, accounting for 49.4 % of total revenue, whereas the Mail Division’s share fell to 47.9 %.

Revenue of the Parcel & Logistics Division increased by 70.7 % (+27.0 % attributable to organic growth) to EUR 628.1m, also due to the full consolidation of the Turkish company Aras Kargo, and included positive special effects from logistics services.

The Mail Division generated revenue of EUR 608.2m in the reporting period (+3.0 %). The Retail & Bank Division also reported growth, producing revenue of EUR 34.0m in the first half of 2021. bank99 has been offering its own range of financial services since April 2020. In order to rapidly expand the business, an agreement to acquire ING’s retail business in Austria was reached in July 2021. The closing is expected by the end of 2021.

With the acquisition of ING’s retail business in Austria, we have taken an extraordinary step forward in accelerating the ramp-up of our financial services”, says Georg Pölzl, CEO of Austrian Post. “We will work together with the highly professional team of ING in Austria to further develop our bank”, Georg Pölzl adds.

Austrian Post also achieved a considerable year-on-year earnings improvement in the first half-year 2021. In the light of the prior-year period influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, Group EBITDA rose by 64.3 % to EUR 184.5m, whereas EBIT has more than doubled, increasing by 114.5 % year-on-year to EUR 103.4m. The Mail Division generated an EBIT increase of 12.6 % to EUR 82.4m, driven by higher letter mail and direct mail revenue following the prior-year period strongly burdened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Letter mail product and postal rate adjustments as well as special mailings also had a positive impact in the current reporting period. EBIT of the Parcel & Logistics Division increased by EUR 18.2m to EUR 59.7m in the first six months of 2021. The earnings improvement is also attributable to the outstanding operating development in all markets, the full consolidation of the Turkish company Aras Kargo and other special effects relating to logistics services. The Retail & Bank Division generated an EBIT of minus EUR 27.0m compared to minus EUR 28.7m in the previous year. The financial services business has a noticeable positive earnings trend. Austrian Post’s profit for the period equalled EUR 84.2m in the first half of 2021 compared to EUR 39.1m in the first half of 2020. Earnings per share in the current reporting period was EUR 1.18, up from EUR 0.66 in the prior-year period.

Austrian Post revised its expectations for the full year 2021 upwards based on strong results generated in the first half-year. In spite of the ongoing uncertainty in the letter mail and direct mail business, total Group revenue (including the Turkish subsidiary Aras Kargo) is expected to increase by about 15 %. Earnings should also improve from the previous year. A year-on-year increase of at least 20 % is targeted (basis 2020 EBIT: EUR 161m). The current parcel volume development confirms the need for Austrian Post’s planned capacity expansion programme. The sorting capacity should be expanded by a further 50 % from 2020 to 2022.”