PostFinance announces record profit
Swiss Post’s financial arm, PostFinance, made a record profit (EBT) of CHF 447.8m in 2009. The 126,000 new customers who joined PostFinance during the last year represent another new record. Last year, the company created 153 new full-time jobs and intends to grow further in 2010.
Compared with the previous year, PostFinance almost doubled its profit in 2009 (+89.8%), with Group profit (EBT) reaching a record level of CHF 447.8m. This was driven mainly by higher income from interest business and consistent cost discipline.
Although the interest level remains at a modest level, PostFinance increased its interest result (after write-downs) to CHF 905m in 2009 (2008: CHF 598m). The main factors were higher customer deposits, lower interest expenses and the long-term, cautious investment strategy, thanks to which write-downs declined to CHF 54m (2008: CHF 189m).
Confidence in PostFinance is high, reported Swiss Post. Last year, it acquired more new customers than in 2008. With 126,000 new customers, the customer base – like profit – achieved a new record figure. The number of customer accounts grew by 235,000. Customer deposits rose on average by CHF 73.3bn over the year, an increase of CHF 20bn compared with the previous-year average. Headcount also increased, in step with growth.
All segments in which PostFinance operates grew last year, some of them “substantially”. Mortgage volumes advanced by CHF 633m – an increase of 31% – which was well ahead of the market. Savings in Deposito accounts increased from CHF 13.8bn to CHF 20bn by the end of the year (+46%), while funds in the investment sub-market rose by 51.1% from CHF 13.7 bn to CHF 20.7bn.
PostFinance has done “exceptionally well” in the past five years, and customer deposits have almost doubled from CHF 41bn to over CHF 73bn. Over the next years, the financial arm of Swiss Post “intends to continue growing profitably and to advance from its position as Switzerland’s fifth-largest financial institution to become one of the top three. At the same time, PostFinance wants to retain its leadership in the Swiss payments business. It will continue to expand its sales, open new branches, and offer financial advice at 20 or 30 larger post offices. It will also create plenty of new jobs: there are plans to add 215 new and qualified full-time positions this year.”
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Key figures for PostFinance |
2009 |
2008 |
Change |
| Group result EBT (CHF m) incl. associates (SIC, SECB) | 448 | 236 | + 212 |
| Number of customers (cut-off date, in thousands) | 2,631 | 2,505 | + 126 |
| Number of customer accounts (cut-off date, in thousands) | 3,881 | 3,646 | + 235 |
| Customer deposits (yearly average in CHF m) | 73,273 | 53,229 | + 20,044 |
| Funds and securities (cut-off date, CHFm) | 3,352 | 2,412 | + 940 |
| Volume of mortgages for private customers (cut-off date, CHFm) |
2,673 | 2,040 | + 633 |
| Volume of loans to business customers (cut-off date, CHFm) |
5,423 | 4,313 | + 1,110 |
| Users of e-finance (cut-off date) | 1,101,600 | 984,600 | + 117,000 |
| Users of e-trading (cut-off date) | 38,560 | 30,900 | + 7,660 |
| Headcount (full-time equivalents, annual average) | 3,042 | 2,889 | + 153 |
| Millions of transactions processed (cut-off date, cumulative) | 865 | 843 | + 22 |
