Deutsche Post defends postal rates
Deutsche Post AG and the German government Monday defended current mail prices as questions resurfaced about whether they should be lower.
The move comes five days after German regulators ordered the first stamp-price cuts in more than 50 years starting next year – a ruling that spurred the mail and logistics giant to say it would be forced to cut 10,000 jobs.
The partially-privatized mail company and the Economics Ministry said Monday postal-price rules extended by the ministry for roughly two years until the end of 2002 were valid. A leading German business group has challenged the extension and demanded repayments for letter costs in an ongoing court case.
Last week, in setting postal prices for 2003-07, the postal regulator ordered an average 4.7% price cut next year and possible further reductions between 2004 and 2007. The ruling prompted Deutsche Post to say last week that its earnings would be reduced by a total of EUR1.5 billion in 2003-07.
On Monday, Deutsche Post’s share price hit a new all-time low at €11.34 ($11.40).
