Deutsche Post CFO Opposed to Share Offer

Deutsche Post Chief Financial Officer Edgar Ernst said on Thursday he did not see the current market environment as good for a second flotation of shares and did not have any potential acquisition targets. In an interview with Reuters, Ernst said the cash cow mail division, which posted an 11.3 percent fall in earnings in the third quarter, had stabilised in the fourth. ‘The mail division in the fourth quarter did not go backwards, it did not fall further. Exactly the opposite,’ he said. Ernst said the company was sticking to its goal of paying a 2001 dividend worth 25-30 percent of net profit. The company said earlier in the day that net profit rose 4.6 percent to 1.6 billion euros ($1.38 billion). Ernst said he did not rule out any potential acquisitions but did not have any currently in sight.