Deutsche Post chief complains about low share price

The price of Deutsche Post shares is too low, the head of the semi-privatised postal authority, Klaus Zumwinkel, complained on Thursday.

“A look at the development of the ‘yellow share’ (the nickname of Deutsche Post shares) since our last shareholder meeting shows that our owners cannot be satisfied with the share price,” Zumwinkel told shareholders at the group’s annual meeting here.

“I want to say clearly that we’re not either. The price reflects the real value nor the strong potential of our company.”

The German government partially privatised Deutsche Post in November 2000, when it floated 29 percent of the group’s capital on the stock exchange at a price of 21 euros per share.

The shares are currently trading well below that at around 15 euros.

“Our prime goal is that our share and our company be valued better and appropriately by the capital markets.”

Separately, Zumwinkel sounded a conciliatory note regarding the current wage dispute at Deutsche Post, during which temporary walkouts by thousands of employees have disrupted letter delivery services across the country.

The giant services sector union Ver.di is calling for wage increases of 6.5 percent, a demand management has dismissed as “unrealistic”.

But the unions were peeved by the fact that management has so far not tabled a concrete offer.

Zumwinkel promised that management would come up with a concrete offer at the next round of negotiations scheduled for June 10 and 11.

“We want to achieve a solution which is tenable for everyone,” Zumwinkel said, but again dismissed the union’s demand as “unrealistic”.

Ver.di wants wage increases of 6.5 percent for around 160,000 of Deutsche Post’s 240,000-strong workforce.

The other 80,000 employees are not affected because they are classified as civil servants in the semi-privatised company’s pay structure.