France's La Poste sees 2003 sales 15.515Bln Eur, UP 3.5%
France’s state-owned postal service La Poste said it expects 2003 sales to rise 3.5 pct to 15.515 bln eur, following the approval of its 2003 budget earlier today.
The company also said it expects to break even at the operating level in 2003, while pretax profit is expected to be over 100 mln eur.
Earlier this month La Poste said it plans to raise basic stamp prices for the first time since 1996, with the price of a standard French and European letter stamp rising to 0.50 eur from 0.46 eur from June 1, 2003.
Chairman Jean-Paul Bailly requested government permission for the tariff increases in order to avoid a potential deficit of 315 mln eur in 2003, if the basic stamp price was kept at 0.46 eur.
