Greek bailout hits profits at La Poste
La Poste has had its profits dented by the European plan to prop up the ailing Greek economy. Along with other European banks, its Banque Postale has had to apply discounts on its Greek bonds.
As a result, La Poste said on Friday that its first half profits fell 21.2% compared to the same period in 2010, to EUR 504m. This included a EUR 158m hit from the downgraded Greek securities.
Overall Group turnover was up 1.9% to EUR 10.8bn, with a continuing 3.4% decline in mail volumes countered by growth in parcel volumes – particularly on the business-to-business side.
Operating margins were reported as 4.7%, with operational expenses excluding the Greek bailout were up 1.4%, while investment was up from 447m in last year’s first half to 572m this year.
Much of the investment – around EUR 470m – helped boost mail and parcels infrastructure, including the addition of depots and hubs for parcels units GeoPost and ColiPoste, as well as the renovation of 181 post offices.
Segments
Among the business segments, La Poste’s mail division was relatively stable, with turnover down just 0.1% to EUR 5.9bn.
Favourable pricing helped counter the financial impact of the 3.4% decline in mail volumes, as did growth in the division’s value-added services arm, Sofipost.
La Poste saw strong growth in its parcels unit, with turnover growing 7.5% to EUR 2.5bn, with much of the success in GeoPost, the business delivery unit, which saw an 8.5% rise in its EUR 1.7bn turnover thanks to a 6.5% volume increase. ColiPoste, the unit that delivers parcels to consumers, saw a 5.3% growth to a EUR 734m turnover.
Elsewhere, La Poste saw its retail network losing a little ground, its EUR 1.3bn turnover slipping 0.3%, while the postal bank saw a 1.2% increase in turnover to EUR 2.7bn, with some growth in loans and savings though the Greek situation lowered profits to EUR 245m.
The company said going forward, the economic slowdown and movements in the financial markets was creating uncertainty, and was targeting a 3% operating margin.
