Poste Italiane maintains EUR 1bn profit level in 2013
Poste Italiane maintained its profits at just above the EUR 1bn mark in 2013, according to its latest results. The universal postal service provider in Italy said it achieved a “strong performance” last year despite a “highly uncertain” economic backdrop and the ongoing decline in the postal business, thanks to its strategy of diversifying its services.
Financial services and insurance products helped the company generate a total revenue of EUR 26bn in 2013, up 8% on the previous year.
Poste Italiane said the “substantial costs” of its universal postal service dragged down its results since these costs were only partly compensated by the government.
Profits before tax were up 7.4% on 2012, to EUR 1.5bn, but the net profit for the year was a fraction down, at EUR 1.005bn compared to EUR 1.032bn in 2012, thanks to changes in tax laws for financial and insurance companies.
Poste Italiane, which is likely to have a 45% stake sold off at some point in the near future by the Italian government to help with national debt, said it remains one of the most profitable posts in the world.
Massimo Sarmi, the Poste Italiane chief executive, said the 2013 results “confirm the strength of our business model” in terms of its diversified nature and new services.
“This strategy has, over the years, enabled us to consolidate our business even when market conditions have been particularly challenging, and reaffirms our growth potential in view of the Group’s future privatisation.”
Divisions
Poste Italiane’s postal and business services division generated EUR 4.45bn revenue in 2013, down 4.4% on 2012. The decline was not so bad as the 9.8% decline seen between 2011 and 2012, but the company said the trend was the result of new competition in the fully liberalized Italian postal market and an increasing use of digital communications in place of traditional mail.
The financial services division achieved a 1.5% growth in revenue in 2013, up to EUR 5.39bn, with strong growth in the company’s EUR 43.9bn current account holdings, and with the Groups credit card customers now numbering 12m.
Poste Italiane’s insurance business achieved a record year, with revenue up 16.9% year-on-year, to EUR 16.2bn.
During the year, Poste Italiane strengthened its international work as technology advisor to other postal operators. The company is currently involved in 25 partnerships, including with the Brazilian, Russian and Chinese postal operators, helping them launch mobile, hybrid mail and e-commerce services.
