PostNL Q4 revenue tops €1bn
PostNL has reported a “strong performance” for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2015, with revenue of just over €1bn. The Q4 2015 revenue of €1,007m was only slightly up on the €995m achieved in Q4 2014, but the underlying cash operating income was up 21% to €147m.
For full year (FY) 2015, PostNL reported an underlying cash operating income €303m, compared to €287m in 2014. Profit was down to €149m, from €226m in 2014, but PostNL said this had been “impacted by exit costs and the management buy-out in the United Kingdom”. (As previously reported, the Whistl MBO closed in October and PostNL has reduced its shareholding in the UK company to 17.5%.)
As expected, there was a further decline in addressed mail volume (down 11.2%), while parcel volumes grew by 9.6%.
Herna Verhagen, CEO of PostNL, said that “overall, 2015 was another solid year” in which the company “proved its ability to adapt its organisation to the changing environment”.
Verhagen also emphasised that PostNL had managed to reach a final agreement with the unions on its five-year social plan and a new collective labour agreement for postal deliverers.
Looking forward, Verhagen said that PostNL was “well-positioned” to benefit from growing e-commerce and cross border activities – which should give a further boost to its parcel business. On the mail side, Verhagen expected the regulatory environment to remain “challenging”, and “requiring significant management attention”.
The company is still aiming to deliver an underlying cash operating income for 2016 of between €220m and €260m.
