Italian-French postal accord on parcel and express mail delivery

The Italian postal service said Thursday it had signed a letter of intent with its French counterpart to establish an alliance for the delivery of packages and express mail.

Corrado Passera, chairman of the Poste Italiane, made the announcement
during a presentation of the company’s annual results for 2000.

In November Poste Italiane signed a letter of intent with the Swiss postal
services setting up a joint venture for international mail in which the
Italian group would hold a majority stake, said Passera.

Poste Italiane reported a net loss for 2000 of 392 million euros (351.5
million dollars), an improvement of 40.9 percent compared with losses the
previous year.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were
in the black by 286.6 million euros, against a loss of 52.2 million euros
in 1999.

ot/sb/waiAFP ENGLISH, 05th April 2001