Italian post office posts rise in turnover

Massimo Sarmi, managing director of the Italian post office (Le Poste), has announced that his company’s turnover rose by around 4 per cent in the second half of 2002. Speaking to the Italian senate, Mr Sarmi explained that a slight drop in the volume of mail has been off-set by the performance of Le Poste’s value-added products and the development of new services.

When asked whether Le Poste expected to meet its 2002 targets, however, the managing director was more circumspect. In the first half of last year, Le Poste’s turnover rose by 1.6 per cent. Its operating result, on the other hand, amounted to a 62m-euro loss. The figures for the second half are due to be released in the coming weeks.