Deutsche Post denies giving analysts profit warning
Deutsche Post World Net AG said it has not warned
analysts of a lower profit at is mail unit than the year earlier, denying
earlier press reports.
‘The press reports give the impression that we gave figures to a small
circle (of analysts). We strongly deny this,’ a Deutsche Post spokesman said.
The report, which appeared in the Financial Times Deutschland today, cited
analysts as saying they had received a profit warning from Deutsche Post which
stated that the group’s mail division’s operating profit has declined by around
100 mln eur in the first quarter from 749 mln one year before.
The spokesman said that at the time when the company supposedly had given
these unpublished figures to analysts, the results were not even ready.
Furthermore, the analysts were only made aware of the fact that the Easter
holiday this year fell in the first quarter, as opposed to the second quarter
last year.
Analyst Nils Machemehl of MM Warburg said that from past experience with
lost working days in previous quarters it is easy to calculate that it means a
loss of 50 mln eur per day.
‘It is very questionable (however), whether it would be worth an Ad Hoc [statement to the stock exchange] to say that Easter is in the first quarter this year,’ Machemel said.
Deutsche Post releases its figures on Monday May 9.
On another note, sources said the company is expected to reiterate its full-year outlook regardless of a weaker first quarter result, sources said.
A spokesman declined to comment on this.
sb/rkj/wf
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