Deutsche Post net profit jumps 48 pct in 2000

The German post office, Deutsche Post, achieved a 48-percent rise in net profit last year to 1.53 billion euros (1.4 billion dollars), the semi-public company said on Friday.

Operating profit soared 158 percent to 2.38 billion euros and sales also
rose strongly, climbing 46 percent to 32.71 billion euros, Deutsche Post
said in a statement released at the CeBIT computer and information technology
trade fair here.

Chairman Klaus Zumwinkel said that the figures “show our extremely rapid
transformation into a global player”. He said: “We achieved a quantum leap
in sales and more than doubled our profit. These record figures, and an
increase in the proportion of overseas revenue, show that we’re on the right road to becoming the world’s leading player in logistics.”

Deutsche Post generated 11.7 billion euros in revenues and 2.0 billion
euros of its operating profit from letter delivery, for which it currently
holds a monopoly in Germany.

Sales in its Express parcel delivery division rose by 26 percent to 6.02
billion euros and profit rose by 27 percent to 76 million euros.

The logistics division swung to a profit of 113 million euros from a loss
of 30 million euros in 1999 on an 86-percent rise in revenue to 8.3
billion euros.

But the most successful division was financial services where, as a result
of the first-time consolidation of DSL-Bank, profits increased more than
eightfold, or 771 percent, to 505 million euros on a 178-percent rise in
sales to eight billion euros.

The positive figures were welcomed by investors and shares in Deutsche
Post were showing a gain of 0.71 euros or 3.71 percent at 19.84 euros on the
Frankfurt stock exchange.

The shares had fallen heavily earlier in the week following the decision
by the EU Commission on Tuesday to slap a fine of 24 million euros on the
semi-public company for abusing its position in the parcel delivery
market.

Chairman Zumwinkel said that Deutsche Post planned to float its
majority-owned US unit, DHL International, in two years or more.

Deutsche Post recently increased its stake in DHL to 51 percent from 25
percent previously and expects to increase it to 75 percent at a later
date.

By contrast, Deutsche Post had no intention of listing its own shares on
the New York Stock Exchange, Zumwinkel added.

spm-bfi/hd
AFP ENGLISH, 23rd March 2001