Swiss Post profits slip 1% in first three quarters

Swiss Post Group has seen its profits slip by 1% so far this year, compared to the first three quarters of 2011, but insisted it was a “good achievement” given the state of the economy. The Swiss national postal service issued a results statement today detailing its CHF 712m (EUR 592m) profit in the nine months up to the end of September 2012.

It said the CHF 9m (EUR 7.5m) drop in profits was mainly related to higher staff costs.

Group revenues for the year-to-date grew by two-thirds of a point, or by CHF 43m (EUR 35.7m), up to CHF 6,342m (EUR 5,271m).

The company said today that for the entire 2012 year, it was expecting its results to be in line with those seen last year.

Swiss Post said it achieved positive results in all four of its main markets – communications, logistics, financial services and passenger transport.

The communications division saw its operating profit up 5.6% to CHF 56m (EUR 46.5m), thanks in part to improved performance in the post office network.

Addressed letter volumes declined by 1.7%, but unaddressed volumes soared by 48% as a direct result of Swiss Post’s acquisition of the DMC Group.

Swiss Post said its logistics division suffered from higher shipping costs, and also put investment into a new IT system, leading to a 10% drop in logistics profits, to CHF 100m (EUR 83.1m).

Parcel volumes increased 3.8% year-on-year during the nine months.

Outside its mail and logistics activities, Swiss Post benefited from higher banking profits, with its PostFinance unit bringing in CHF 497m (EUR 413m) in profit, up 7% on the same period in 2011.

The Group’s public transport unit, PostBus, saw a 10% uptick in profits, to CHF 33m (EUR 27.4m) for the three quarters.

HQ

Swiss Post is currently building a new larger headquarters in the WankdorfCity area of Berne, which should house about 1,800 staff members from November 2014.

The project saw its foundation stone laid at the end of September.

The new CHF 144m, eight-storey building close to the Berne Wankdorf railway station will provide about 33,700 square metres of space, and is being built by Losinger Marazzi AG. The building will be leased by Swiss Post from real estate firm Swiss Prime Site.

Susanne Ruoff, the Swiss Post chief executive, said the new building would strive for the “highest sustainability standards” including solar panels on the roof and energy-efficient lighting systems.