Author: Archive

UK Postal Watchdog raps slow progress on post offices

Posted by | Feb 24, 2005 | |

A report due out today will criticise the government and Royal Mail for not doing more to secure the future of the loss-making post office network.

Smaller post offices, or sub-post offices, are privately owned but in rural areas are supported by a Pounds 150m annual subsidy – the social network payment – from the Department of Trade and Industry. This is designed to limit branch closures in rural areas but is due to end in 2008.

The number of urban sub-post offices will have fallen by up to 3,000 by the end of this year – the Post Office claims there was over-capacity – and the DTI is spending up to Pounds 210m on redundancy payments and the refurbishment of the remaining branches.

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Deutsche Post to unveil FY EBITA growth of at least 8 pct

Posted by | Feb 24, 2005 | |

Deutsche Post World Net AG is expected to unveil on Tuesday a full year 2004 EBITA growth of at least 8 pct, with fourth quarter operating profit improving by around 10 pct despite losses in North America, according to analysts polled by AFX News.

Sales are estimated at 42.86-44.62 bln eur from 40.017 bln and net profit at 1.33-1.4 bln eur from 1.31 bln.

Analysts are forecasting EBITA between 3.22 bln eur and 3.32 bln eur, or an improvement of nearly 12 pct at best from 2.975 bln the previous year.

Deutsche Post itself had given a guidance of 7.5-12.5 pct EBITA growth.

Analysts said the Express and Logistics divisions were the main drivers of growth while weakness in Germany’s economy had slowed down the increase in profits of the cash-rich mail segment.

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LDP refuses to accept government estimate on postal privatisation

Posted by | Feb 24, 2005 | |

Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party refused to accept a government estimate Thursday that postal privatisation will create an increase of up to 600 billion yen in pretax profits annually.

Rejecting the estimate as too idealistic, the party urged the government to present what it called a more realistic estimate next week on the profitability of Japan’s postal system after its privatisation begins in 2007, LDP House of Representatives member Yoichi Miyazawa told reporters.

During Thursday’s meeting, the government gave the party a projection that the four privatised entities spun off from the state-backed Japan Post will be able to chalk up large profits by launching new businesses such as financing and merchandising.

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UK post offices in jeopardy despite big cutbacks

Posted by | Feb 24, 2005 | |

The future of some post offices remains uncertain despite a huge closure programme designed to boost the financial viability of those that remain, an official report has found. Almost one in three, or 7,000, post offices has been closed in the past 22 years, to the fury of many small communities and elderly people. However, the drastic cuts in the network may still leave some sub-post offices vulnerable to falling volumes of business, the National Audit Office (NAO) said. A report by the Government’s main spending watchdog concludes that the future of the remaining post offices cannot be “guaranteed” and urges the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to be alert to the problem. Post Office Limited is on course to shut about 2,500 urban post offices in the latest closure programme. However, the NAO said there was still some uncertainty as to whether the programme, backed by Pounds 210 million of public money, would achieve its long-term aim.

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UK post offices facing bleak future MP warns

Posted by | Feb 24, 2005 | |

The future for some post offices remained “bleak” despite a closure programme aimed at boosting their viability, a leading MP warned, following an official report into the business. The National Audit Office said the Government needed to be alert to falling volumes of business that could threaten sub post offices. Despite the closure of 2,500 branches there was uncertainty whether the programme, backed by £210 million of government money, would achieve its aim of producing a viable network, according to the study. Edward Leigh, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: “The future for some post offices is still bleak. I am concerned to learn that even after the programme of 2,500 closures in urban areas, and work to provide different kinds of financial services, many individual sub postmasters may still struggle to make enough profit to stay open.”

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NAO Report on the DTIs Financial Support for Post Offices

Posted by | Feb 24, 2005 | |

Contents:
The network of post offices in the UK 7
The viability of post offices 8
The financial position of Post Office Limited 9
The status of Post Office Limited 10
Providing services through the post office network 10
The scope and methodology of this report 11
Triangle consultants produced a report for the NAO which contributed to this final report.
P:LibraryPostalNAO DTI Financial Support for Post Offices.pdf
Printed copy: L13963

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National Audit Office report on UK post offices published

Posted by | Feb 24, 2005 | |

Postwatch welcomes the National Audit Office (NAO) report into the Department of Trade and Industry’s financial support for post offices. The report sets out the problems facing the post office network, and in particular, how changes to pension and benefit payments and customer shopping habits have put considerable financial pressures on many post offices. In this light, the NAO’s recommendation for continued business advice and assistance for subpostmasters is to be welcomed. The NAO confirms Postwatch’s concern that the introduction of pilots in rural areas by Post Office Ltd (POL) has thus far not progressed
sufficiently swiftly. In the coming months, POL needs to take significant
steps forward in exploring innovative delivery mechanisms that meet rural
customers’ needs.

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Seur to double overseas business within a year after La Poste tie-up

Posted by | Feb 24, 2005 | |

The recent tie-up between Seur and France’s La Poste has set up the Spanish delivery services group for strong international growth over the next five years.

According to Ramón Mayo, the vice president of Seur España, the alliance with La Poste will see the contribution of the Spanish group’s international operations to total turnover double within a year to 14 percent from 7 percent.

La Poste unit GeoPost acquired a 12.5 percent stake in Seur España out of the 21 percent put on the block by the founder of the Spanish group Justo Yúfera in February. The remaining 8.5 percent ended up in the hands of the 64 remaining partners in the transportation business.

Mayo said Seur had been looking at ways off expanding its overseas business for some time. However, he said the process of finding an international associate was complicated by the structure of the group, which is organized around 85 franchises handed out by its partners.

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