Author: Archive

Kiwibank makes further cut to Home Loan Rate

Posted by | May 16, 2008 | |

Kiwibank has made a further cut to its two-year fixed-term home loan interest rate. Kiwibank has cut the rate to 8.99 pct per annum, effective immediately, making it the only major bank to offer a fixed term home loan rate below 9 pct.

Kiwibank Chief Executive Sam Knowles said there has been a clear softening in the interest rate market. “The other banks have this week brought their rates to nearly those offered by Kiwibank, so we are cutting this key term even further.”

“This rate will appeal to those home owners who have loans coming due for renewal. They will have been very nervous at refixing loans when rates were hovering near the 10 pct mark. A rate below 9 pct will be a much reduced rate shock.

“Kiwibank always wants to be fast to cut loan rates and slow to increase them. This latest cut fits with that strategy,” Mr Knowles said.

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Fahy leaves DHL Global Forwarding

Posted by | May 16, 2008 | |

DHL Global Forwarding’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Fahy, has reached an agreement to leave the company.

On 4 March, Herman Ude was appointed to run the newly combined Global Forwarding and Freight business unit, effectively taking over Fahy’s role within the company. Ude previously headed up the Freight business unit.

In further moves, former Managing Director Marketing & Sales for DHL Express Europe, Thomas George, has been appointed by Ude to take over the running of the loss-making Freight business unit on his behalf.

In addition, DHL’s Global Customer Solutions Chief Executive Officer, Rolf Habben-Janse, has resigned from the company to join Maersk Logistics/Damco, as its new Chief Executive Officer.

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Richard Bacon MP unveils CitySprint’s new Norwich Service Centre following acquisition of 24/7 Direct

Posted by | May 16, 2008 | |

On Friday (9th May 2008), Richard Bacon, MP for South Norfolk, was on hand to officially open CitySprint’s Norwich ServiceCentre. CitySprint is the UK’s largest privately owned SameDay Courier network and, with ServiceCentres already in Cambridge and Ipswich, it will now have an even greater presence in East Anglia.

The new ServiceCentre follows the purchase of local courier company 24/7 Dispatch for an undisclosed sum and is based in Ernest Gage Avenue, Longwater Business Park.

Through CitySprint’s leading-edge technology, staff operating at the ServiceCentre have visibility of the entire fleet of CitySprint couriers and are able to offer excellent service levels to clients in the area.

CitySprint’s comprehensive technology solution enables clients to access quotes, book OnLine and, through its leading-edge facility, CourierLocator, access a real-time map location of the courier doing their SameDay Courier job.

Brothers and former owners of 24/7 Dispatch, Jim and Rick Jackson, will manage the operation and look forward to being part of the CitySprint network of 30+ ServiceCentres around the UK.

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City Link parent pledges to turn fortunes around

Posted by | May 16, 2008 | |

The boss of Rentokil Initial – parent company of City Link – has vowed to turn around the fortunes of the parcel delivery firm, despite Rentokil receiving “numerous offers” for City Link.

Alan Brown, who became chief executive of Rentokil in March, says he is pleased with the progress City Link is making at improving its customer service levels and confident the parcels firm can return to profitability.

City Link posted an operating loss of GBP 15.4m for the three months to the end of March.

At the same time, Rentokil Initial revealed its first quarter operating profit dropped to GBP 28.7m, from GBP 54m the previous year.

City Link has experienced integration problems following its merger with Target Express last year. The process is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Brown says City Link’s turnaround plan will focus on improved customer service, integrated information systems and an optimised hub and depot network.

He adds: “We have broken the back of the operational problems, but there is still a long route back”.

In February, Petar Cvetkovic was appointed City Link’s new managing director.

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Austrian Post: Good business development in the first quarter of 2008

Posted by | May 16, 2008 | |

– Group revenue up 6.0pct, to EUR 609.9m based on the consolidation of new subsidiaries
– Volume and revenue were impacted in a quarterly year-on-year comparison by one working day less and the timing of Easter already in March 2008
– Expected revenue and earnings reduction due to the loss of two parcels customers in Austria
– Other parcel customers were retained; restructuring of the parcels business proceeding as planned
– Earnings development in the first quarter confirms forecast for 2008
– EBIT of EUR 49.9m, EBIT margin of 8.2pct
– Group profit for the period of EUR 41.9m, earnings per share of EUR 0.6
– Operating cash flow before changes in working capital continues to be stable, at EUR 77.0m
– Outlook for 2008 confirmed: stable to slight increase in revenue, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) only slightly below 2007, and then continually rising.

All in all, Austrian Post confirms its original forecasts for the 2008 financial year, namely a stable development to a slight increase in its total revenue (up to 3pct ). This includes the integration of the new subsidiaries acquired during the course of 2007. Despite the adverse effects on the parcels segment, Austrian Post expects earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in 2008 to be only slightly below the level achieved in the year 2007, and then continually rise in subsequent years. Accordingly, the EBIT margin will be slightly below 7pct in 2008, and then reach the targeted range of between 7pct and 8pct in the following years. Based on a stable cash flow development and a solid balance sheet structure, Austrian Post expects to continue pursuing an attractive dividend policy.

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Warsaw is cultural capital with the lowest price tag

Posted by | May 16, 2008 | |

Culture vultures who want to save hundreds of pounds on the cost of an arts and entertainment-packed short break should head for Warsaw. The Polish capital was far and away the cheapest city for a cultural weekend away, according to the new Cost of Culture report conducted by Post Office® Travel Services.¹

Even though sterling buys 22 per cent fewer Polish zloty than a year ago, the GBP 75 price tag – which included visits to Warsaw’s historic art galleries, museums and heritage sites, together with nights at the renowned Polish National Opera, ballet and a symphony concert² – weighed in at less than 25 per cent of the equivalent London cost.

London proved by far the most expensive of the 10 cultural capitals surveyed by the Post Office®. Its itinerary of 10 cultural highlights, which included trips to the Royal Opera House, Buckingham Palace and the Victoria & Albert Museum, costs around GBP 308, despite the offer of free entry to its national museums and galleries.

By contrast, while the sliding pound has made Prague up to 25 per cent more expensive than a year ago, the Czech capital rates as great value for lovers of the arts. It was second only to Warsaw, at just under GBP 104 for a culture-filled trip.

The survey of Europe and North America’s top cultural centres included six eurozone capitals and, as with other price comparison reports by the Post Office®, revealed a huge disparity in costs between these destinations.

The Cost of Culture survey identifies the five best value choices for each of the six cultural categories researched (allowing one entry per city in each category)³ and found that Paris was the only city not to feature. However clued-up culture vultures can cut their costs by visiting Paris on the first Sunday of each month, when galleries are free.4

The Post Office® Cost of Culture survey is available online for holidaymakers to view at postoffice.co.uk/costofculture

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Canada Post Issues First Corporate Social Responsibility Report

Posted by | May 15, 2008 | |

Canada Post issued its first annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report (CSR). The Report reflects the corporation’s economic, social and environmental objectives, strategies, and performance.

Some key achievements in the 2007 CSR report include:

– Recognition in Maclean’s magazine as a top 100 employer in Canada;
– A Strategic Council poll found Canada Post “the most trusted federal institution” in Canada;
– According to a Leger Marketing survey Canada Post ranked third among the 150 most-admired businesses in Quebec;
– Since 2002, Canada Post has invested more than 10 million dollars in more than 250 energy-reduction initiatives and has reduced greenhouse gas emissions from its buildings and fleet by 3 pct.
– Canada Post plans to follow LEED™ green building standards for all major new buildings and has targeted a 75 pct landfill waste diversion rate by December 2008
Employee engagement levels rose by 5 percentage points;
– Canada Post donated 1.4 pct of pre-tax profits to registered charities and not-for-profit organizations;
Through employee and corporate donations, Canada Post raised more than 2.5 million dollars for the United Way;

Canada Post faced some significant challenges in 2007. There were more than 4,000 accidents that resulted in lost time. Absenteeism is a concern; there were 14.8 lost days per employee compared to an overall national average of 9.7 days. Despite 10 years of labour peace, more than 20,000 grievances were filed in 2007. High fuel prices continue to be a concern for Canada Post and its aging infrastructure requires an investment up to USD 1.9 million to modernize.

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Posta Romana fights for market share

Posted by | May 15, 2008 | |

Compania Nationala Posta Romana (Romanian Post Office Company) estimates it will employ more than 35,500 people by the end of this year, 400 more than last year, despite the gradual elimination of 2,650 jobs.

“We will outsource valuable parcel shipping activities to Group 4 Securicor, and 1,100 employees will most likely be taken over by this firm in a year’s time. We’ll also automate mail-processing centres and outsource maintenance and cleaning activities. Overall, we’ll slash 2,650 jobs,” said Mihai Toader, manager of Posta Romana.

However, Toader stated most employees would be moved to other positions, with the number of employees expected to increase constantly in the coming years against turnover growth.

Posta Romana ended last year with turnover worth 1bn RON (312m euros) and forecasts 40 pct turnover growth for this year. First quarter figures confirm this projection, after turnover derived in the first three months increased 47 pct on 2007, and reached 94m euros.

The local election campaign will also encourage the company’s turnover growth.

In particular, Posta Romana redevelopment is being aided by contracts with private firms, and company representatives want to cut the share of contracts sealed with the state in turnover.

Practically, the entire delivery and postal services market has followed an upward trend in recent years.

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