Strengthened Posten grows with improved profitability
Posten has continued to deliver strong financial results throughout 2007. Operating
earnings improved by 38 pct to total almost SEK 2 billion. These are the best earnings
from the core business in Posten’s 371-year history. At the same time, sales increased by
7 pct, totaling approximately SEK 30 billion. This shows that we have succeeded, already
during the first year of our new operational structure, in carrying out our focused
efforts to reduce costs and increase income by clearer specialization and increased
customer focus.
1 USD = 6.30871 SEK
The strong 10 pct growth of Posten Logistics is solid proof that we have been successful
in standing up to increasingly tough competition to strengthen our position on the
market. With additional acquisitions in Finland and the establishment of the distribution
network MyPack in Norway, Posten Logistics has created the conditions for a more
unified logistics concept on the Finnish market and broadened its offer for distance
trading, and has increased its total capacity on the growing Nordic logistics market.
By successfully integrating Posten’s printing operations and winning important
deals, Stralfors has grown by a full 31 pct within information logistics. At the same
time, Stralfors has both streamlined the business with divestments of non-core businesses, and has created new growth opportunities, especially for Graphic Solutions
aimed toward the pharmaceutical industry.
Posten has continued to deliver strong financial results throughout 2007. Operating
earnings improved by 38 pct to total almost SEK 2 billion. These are the best earnings
from the core business in Posten’s 371-year history. At the same time, sales increased by
7 pct, totaling approximately SEK 30 billion. This shows that we have succeeded, already
during the first year of our new operational structure, in carrying out our focused
efforts to reduce costs and increase income by clearer specialization and increased
customer focus.
The strong 10 pct growth of Posten Logistics is solid proof that we have been successful
in standing up to increasingly tough competition to strengthen our position on the
market. With additional acquisitions in Finland and the establishment of the distribution
network MyPack in Norway, Posten Logistics has created the conditions for a more
unified logistics concept on the Finnish market and broadened its offer for distance
trading, and has increased its total capacity on the growing Nordic logistics market.
By successfully integrating Posten’s printing operations and winning important
deals, Stralfors has grown by a full 31 pct within information logistics. At the same
time, Stralfors has both streamlined the business with divestments of non-core businesses, and has created new growth opportunities, especially for Graphic Solutions
aimed toward the pharmaceutical industry.
It is great news that Posten Messaging is able to encounter challenges from
increased competition and substitution, which results in stagnating letter volumes.
Continued development of services and ongoing rationalizations create the conditions
for us to continue strengthening our competitiveness while living up to our universal
service obligation. A growth area for both Posten Messaging and Posten Logistics is
the growing distance trade. During the year, our cooperation with distance trade
companies has grown stronger, and several important agreements have been made.
We are happy to report even more good news. Posten’s employees are becoming
increasingly healthy. In 2007, sickness absenteeism fell from 7.8 to 6.5 pct. This
development is mainly positive for our employees, but it also means lower costs for
Posten of approximately SEK 100m annually.
Since breaking the negative trend in 2003 concerning the public’s attitude to
Posten, the curve has been steadily climbing. During 2007, this became even
clearer, something not only apparent in our own measurements, but also in the
newly presented study from the Swedish Quality Index (SKI). I am convinced that the
fantastic accessibility that exists in our service network is partly behind the improvement.
The decision about the Cashier Service has also reduced the uncertainty and
further clearified Posten’s mission. Furthermore, I am convinced that, amongst the
ever-more visible competition, Posten is perceived as the most trustworthy player
with good service and world-class quality.
To summarize, Posten has developed very positively in 2007. This means
that we are prepared for the projected slowdown in general economic growth, and
also to responsibly manage the closure of the Cashier Service. At the same time,
we will be in an excellent position to create future growth and strong results in our
core operations.
1 USD = 6.30871 SEK
