La Poste 2001 Financials Released

French state-owned post office La Poste (F.PST) Thursday reported a net loss of EUR95 million [US$84 million] in 2001, as it wrote down EUR170 million [US$150 million] in goodwill amortization following the restructuring of its parcel delivery unit, GeoPost. That net loss compares with a net profit of EUR139.2 million [US$123 million] in 2000. Excluding the write-downs, La Poste’s 2001 profit was EUR75 million [US$66 million], still 46% lower than in 2000. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell 14% to EUR841 million [US$741 million], from EUR981 million. Earnings were hit by the global economic slowdown, the implementation of a 35-hour working week in France, the change-over to the euro, a rise in transport costs and costs related to anthrax scares following Sept. 11, the company said. La Poste estimated the cost of the change-over to the euro at EUR200 million [US$176 million] over three years. In addition, 2001 saw an acceleration in the replacement of physical mail by electronic mail, La Poste said. As a result, revenue from the letter business rose 1.6% on the year, less than initially expected, the group said. Meanwhile, La Poste’s financial services reported a net banking income of EUR3.93 billion [US$3.5 billion], up 5.3% from EUR3.73 billion in 2000. Revenues from the parcel business jumped 31% in 2001 to EUR2.94 billion [US$2.6 billion], from EUR2.25 billion, owing to the European expansion of the unit. On a pro forma basis, revenues from the parcel activities rose 3.4%. La Poste now has a 10% share of the European parcel market, the company said.