bpost Q4 results boosted by “excellent parcel revenues”
Belgium’s bpost has reported that its revenues for the fourth quarter (Q4) were up 38.4% at €955.1m, thanks to “excellent parcel revenues” and the positive impact of the consolidation of Radial.
Domestic parcel volumes were up 30.8% in Q4, and up 28.2% for the full year.
bpost’s Logistic Solutions revenues were up €237.2m, driven by the consolidation of Radial and Dynagroup.
In a statement sent to Post&Parcel today (13 March), bpost said these positive results compensated for Domestic Mail, where volumes were down 6.4%.
Net profit for the full year came in at EUR 291m.
Koen Van Gerven, bpost’s CEO, commented: “In 2017 we achieved key milestones to carry forward our sustainable profitable growth. First the recent strategic acquisition of Radial allows us to expand our business in the fast growing e-commerce logistics business. Second the successful launch of the biggest sorting center in the Benelux is a key enabler in delivering operational excellence for our customers. And finally the new postal law voted recently by the Belgian parliament secures a stable and transparent regulatory framework in Belgium.
“The fourth quarter benefitted again from an excellent domestic parcels growth driven by strong online end of year sales. However our operational results have been impacted by an increased e-substitution in Transactional Mail, costs related to the set-up of activities at our new sorting facility in Brussels, higher opex to manage year-end peak and a restructuring provision for Ubiway. The major financial objective of 2017 was to compensate the absence of price increase on the small user basket with an estimated impact of EUR 20 million. Our operational results for the full year 2017 are above last year driven by the excellent parcels performance and by the contribution of the acquisitions, including Radial. Next year will be another challenging year but we remain confident in our strategy which will continue to deliver as we did over the last years.”
