Swiss Post CFO on financial results: it’s obvious that action is needed
Swiss Post generated Group profit of 255 million francs in 2019, a decline of 149 million francs compared to 2018.
At 450 million francs, operating profit (EBIT) was 55 million francs lower, down 11 % year-on-year.
The company has released its annual results saying: “These results are unsurprising as Swiss Post continues to operate in a challenging environment.”
“Swiss Post aims to remain a robust, competitive and non-subsidised enterprise to continue financing the universal service from its own resources,” says Alex Glanzmann, Swiss Post CFO. “When I look at the development of the financial results and also see how Swiss Post’s key figures are changing, then it’s obvious that action is needed,” adds Glanzmann.
The low interest rate environment, the decline in letter volumes and strong growth in parcels are the main challenges in the core markets. This has led to the continued decline in results over recent years. Swiss Post will require a sufficiently strong financial basis to manage its transformation over the next few years.
Income continues to decline at PostFinance owing to the ongoing low interest environment. Interest income fell sharply again compared to the previous year, dropping by 164 million francs. Operating income was down 44 million francs to 1,660 million. “This clearly shows that we cannot compensate for the competitive disadvantage of not being able to issue loans and mortgages ourselves in the current negative interest environment,” says Hansruedi Köng, CEO of PostFinance.
Operating profit rose by 20 million francs last year, climbing to 240 million francs. However, this effect is not sustainable as interest income will continue to fall over the coming years.
Swiss Post wants to remain a robust, non-subsidised company. “We want to continue providing a valuable public service in future and are proud of the fact that we are self-financing,” says Roberto Cirillo, CEO of Swiss Post. “A valuable public service for citizens and companies is the actual dividend from Swiss Post’s business activities,” he underlines.
