Geodis / La poste partnership in the pipeline

Pierre Blayau, head of Geodis, the French logistics and transport group in which railway operator SNCF Participations is the main investor, has unveiled his strategy for the medium term.
Blayau, hinted that the country’s postal operator La Poste could figure in Geodis’ future plans as he estimated a net loss of between Eurol 40 million and Eurol 50 million for 2001 in view of restructuring costs.
In order to remedy the situation and boost its own capital, the company has wound up or
sold loss-making activities and aims to sell property worth between € 40 to 50 million.
By the end of 2001,the working capital requirement had been improved by about € 60 million. A capital increase of about € 100 million by 2005 is planned, and the company is considering the entry of a business partner as a minority shareholder.
La Poste is, say reports from inside the country, seen as a potential partner, as is the conglomerate Bollore, which includes transport in its activities.