Albanian postal operator net profit almost doubles in 2005

The net profit of state-owned Albanian Post, the sole postal services provider in the southeast European country, almost doubled last year to 88.8 million leks ($929,000/718,000 euro), as revenue rose by 8.9%, figures from the company showed on Monday.

Company officials were not immediately available to comment.

Details follow from Albanian Post financial report posted on the company’s website (in millions of leks):

………………………………………………….2005………….2004

NET PROFIT………………………………….88.8…………..44.9

GROSS PROFIT…………………………….118.5………….79.6

TOTAL REVENUE………………………..1,062.7………..975.5

-FROM POSTAL SERVICES……………..373.4………..341.4

-FROM FINANCIAL SERVICES…………428.2………..399.6

TOTAL COSTS……………………………….944.2………..896.1

The company said earlier the planned introduction of new services, including newspaper distribution, e-mail services and mobile post offices would help it raise its revenue by 10% this year. It gave no revenue projection.

An agreement with Albanian power utility KESH for the payment of electricity bills through the post offices would also help Albania Post raise its revenue, an Albanian Post official told SeeNews earlier this year. Albanian Post is now able to act as an insurance intermediary under a licence issued by Albania’s insurance watchdog AMS which would also help the company raise revenue, the official added.

The agreement with KESH and the insurance intermediation licence are part of the Albanian Post’s development strategy which, in the longer term, would also include the payment of telephone bills and taxes through the post offices, P.O. boxes for businesses and pre-paid phone cards services.

Setting up an integral address system in smaller and most remote villages, now a major hurdle to improving postal services, is also part of the development strategy of the company.

(1 euro = 123.6226 Albanian leks)

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Source: SeeNews