Author: Archive

Increased revenues and costs for Norway Post

Posted by | May 15, 2008 | |

Norway Post’s revenue in the first quarter. The operating revenues increased by 4pct to MNOK 6 997.

The earnings before non-recurring items came to MNOK 74, compared to MNOK 219 in the first quarter 2007. The profit performance in Q1 is influenced by the reduced volume during the Easter week. Easter fell in March in 2008, while it was in April in 2007. The earnings before non-recurring items as at 30 April (first four months) came to MNOK 208, an improvement of MNOK 35 compared to the corresponding period last year.

It was primarily developments in the Mail segment and the Easter effect that made a negative contribution to the quarterly result. Although the letter volume is increasing slightly, the decline in the volume of addressed letter products and banking transactions at post offices is continuing.

Norway Post’s Nordic operations improved during the quarter and now provide around 25 per cent of the Group’s total revenues. The Q1 operating revenues from activities outside Norway came to NOK 1.7 billion – a rise of 19.2 per cent compared to Q1 2007.

The Group is experiencing increased competition in all its business areas. The EU has decided on a liberalisation of the postal market in Europe and this will lead to full competition as from 2011. On 1 April of this year, Sweden Post and Post Denmark announced that they are to merge to form a large Nordic postal and logistics group.

One of the most important means of improving cost effectiveness and ensuring a high delivery quality is the new high-tech letter centre at Robsrud outside Oslo. This facility is under construction and is expected to be finished in 2009.

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Market research into customers' needs from the postal service and analysis of the net cost of aspects of the current universal service (UK)

Posted by | May 15, 2008 | |

Postcomm has today published some important research findings to help inform the debate that was started in its Strategy Review issued in August 2007 about what sort of universal service would meet the needs of today’s customers. Publication coincides with Postcomm’s second submission of evidence to the Independent Review Panel.

This research was undertaken to help inform Postcomm’s policy making; none of the research represents policy proposals as such.

Postcomm’s research covers two important areas:

1. Market research carried out in 2007 into customers’ needs from the postal service in the UK. This adds to the body of research carried out jointly by Postcomm, Postwatch and Royal Mail in 2006 and to research that Postwatch plans to publish shortly. This work was commissioned by Postcomm because Royal Mail have little recent and detailed information about what customers need from a universal service.
2. Econometric modelling to estimate the impact of changes to some aspects of the current universal service on Royal Mail’s costs and revenues. This work was commissioned by Postcomm because Royal Mail’s own costing system was not designed to produce any information of this nature. Royal Mail has co-operated with the research and analysis, providing data and participating in discussions on the methodology used and the validity of many of the underlying assumptions.

Postcomm believes that the research is based on the soundest possible approach in terms of econometric modelling, cost derivation and the use of consumer research. However, as with all research, there are limitations and these are explained fully in the reports.

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Isle of Man Post Post Office Chairman on UK proposals

Posted by | May 15, 2008 | |

The Chairman of Isle of Man Post says there is much to be learned from the private sector.

Pam Crowe is responding to news in the United Kingdom, where the postal watchdog is recommending part privatisation of Royal Mail to avoid a potential slide in the standard of services.

She says the proposal wouldn’t necessarily be bad news if Royal Mail became more competitive and efficient.

Mrs Crowe says change is never easy, but she’s confident in this case it would be well handled (audio file attached):

Mrs Crowe retains the position of Chairman of Isle of Man Post, despite not being re-elected to the Legislative Council.

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Postbank to put property portfolio up for sale

Posted by | May 15, 2008 | |

Deutsche Postbank is putting up for sale a majority of its property portfolio, a spokesman for Germany’s biggest retail bank said on Tuesday.

He said the bank was evaluating the disposal of a packet called of 25 of its office buildings, confirming a story released by the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper on Tuesday ahead of publication on Wednesday.

The reason for the sale is that real estate management is not a core business for the bank, the spokesman said. A decision about the sale should come in the second half of the year.

The newspaper reported the buildings owned by Postbank were worth between 700 and 800 million euros (USD 1.1-USD 1.2 billion).

Postbank has hired Morgan Stanley, which has previously managed a real-estate sale for parent Deutsche Post, to handle the transaction, according to the report.

In April, Deutsche Post sold property worth a billion euros to U.S. Investor Lone Star LS.N.

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Canada Post undertakes rural mailbox review

Posted by | May 15, 2008 | |

Over the next several years, Canada Post is proposing to review the physical location of more than 840,000 rural mailboxes across Canada.

The move comes on the heels of nearly 2,000 safety complaints against the federal agency since 2004.

Communications officer Mario Circelli appeared before council Tuesday afternoon to talk about a new program being undertaken by Canada Post.

“Over the next number of years Canada Post will be reviewing the physical location of 843,000 rural mailboxes,” Circelli said. “Our rural country roads aren’t so quiet anymore.”

Circelli said that Bill C-45 places the onus on employee safety squarely on the shoulders of the employer. “That’s not just Canada Post, that is every business, and we have decided to take a moral responsibility.”

Circelli said the Traffic Safety Assessment Tool (TSAT) was the result of a growing problem across Canada with the delivery of mail to rural mailboxes.

Looking at a number of factors from legal restrictions to the number of lanes, shoulder width, centre line markings, traffic volume and sight distance, TSAT is a mathematical equation that can be applied across Canada to any rural mailbox to determine the suitability of its location.

According to Circelli, with TSAT there are only three possible outcomes: 1) Rural mailboxes meet the safety criteria and the customer is notified in writing, 2) Rural mailboxes fail to meet the criteria and the customer has the opportunity to move it, or 3) If the customer cannot relocate the mailbox a community mailbox or post office box may be required.

Circelli stressed that Canada Post will not cut off mail delivery to any home throughout the process.

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DHL/Blue Dart aviation to start direct services on Kolkata-Dhaka route news

Posted by | May 15, 2008 | |

DHL Express (India) Pvt Ltd, in association with Blue Dart Aviation, is planning a direct link between Kolkata and Dhaka in a bid to compete with the unorganised express and logistics sector in SARRC countries. The new service is likely to become operational in approximately two months time.

The new route will reduce time and costs for DHL, for earlier the cargo would travel to Dhaka from Kolkata, via Singapore.

“Blue Dart Aviation would run a direct flight to Dhaka in two months time and this would help bringing down our cost by at least 20 per cent in addition to the transit time,” said Craig Grossgart, vice president, DHL Express (India) Pvt Ltd.

According to the company, the cost benefits would be passed on to the customers enabling a lower product cost. “Earlier we couldn’t compete with the unorganised nature of the sector in this part, but now we can compete with anybody, as the pricing would be more competitive,” Grossgart said.

Eventually, the company plans to venture into other SAARC nations, particularly Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The new scheme is undergoing pilot tests and may be launched soon. Keeping these plans in mind the company has inaugurated a 16000 sq ft, new state-of art facility at Kolkata.

Meanwhile, Blue Dart will add one more Boeing 757 cargo aircraft to its fleet by the end of the year. Currently the company operates a fleet of seven aircraft, of which three are Boeing 737 and the other two Boeing 757s.

DHL Express holds a 81 per cent stake in the Chennai-based air cargo company.

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Access to Trade in Latin America Can be achieved through Improved Infrastructure

Posted by | May 15, 2008 | |

Even though Latin America has recently enjoyed its highest economic growth rates since the late 1970s, economic strength and momentum in other regions—Asia, Europe—overshadows its progress. Latin America is not advancing as rapidly and will continue to fall behind if businesses and governments do not prioritize spending on infrastructure and address regulatory barriers.

In Latin America, poor transportation infrastructure and regulatory barriers undermine the region’s competitive strengths. Across most Latin American countries, less than one-third of the national road network is in good condition. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) suggests that although proximity to the U.S. is a competitive advantage to Latin America, this edge is quickly eroded by an insufficient network of roads, ports, railways and airports. Insufficient infrastructure drives up transaction and transportation costs, and this impairs Latin American countries’ competitiveness with hot markets like China. To grow and compete aggressively with other markets, it is imperative that Latin America improve its infrastructure to lower transaction and transportation costs.

To compete successfully with rapidly growing economies in the global marketplace, key stakeholders from both the public and private sectors need to foster and develop partnerships to build stronger physical transportation networks. Businesses large and small must collaborate with government and non-profit organizations in new and innovative ways. Of the top 100 economies in the world, 51 are corporations and 49 are countries. Without a doubt, corporations, and governments play comparable roles to shaping the global economy.

While Latin American governments have recently increased investments in infrastructure development, we cannot rely solely on their efforts. In addition, businesses must forge partnerships with governments to establish procedures that facilitate trade and eliminate any unlawful practices. Efficiency in cross-border trade flows would significantly increase. Improved and increased transportation infrastructure across Latin American countries would create better cohesion and economic strength, allowing governments and organizations to work more closely together and give businesses the economic framework to grow and expand their market reach with more speed and frequency.

With so much promise for potential growth and progress, it would be a disappointment if Latin American businesses and governments can’t build the partnerships necessary for our commerce and citizens to thrive in the global marketplace.

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Deutsche Post World Net: First quarter on target

Posted by | May 15, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post World Net started the year of 2008 with solid performance in the first quarter: Underlying EBIT rose 6.4 percent to around 1 billion euros, meeting the Group’s own targets. That was despite the fact that the quarter had two working days less than the year-earlier period.

Reported EBIT declined 14.7 percent to 851 million euros due to non-recurring expenses at Deutsche Postbank tied to the crisis on the financial markets. Revenue totaled 15.7 billion euros, up 1.8 percent from the year-earlier period, excluding negative currency effects the increase was around 6 percent.

Deutsche Post World Net is aware of the uncertainties in the world economic development. Even so, at this point in time, the Group has no reason to change its full-year earnings forecast of around 4.2 billion euros in EBIT before non-recurring effects and around 3.2 billion euros in pretax profit.

The MAIL division projects EBIT of around 1.95 billion euros for 2008. The EXPRESS division is expected to generate EBIT of around 500 million euros, while the LOGISTICS division is scheduled to increase EBIT to around 1.05 billion. The FINANCIAL SERVICES segment projects EBIT of around 1.2 billion euros. A loss of around 550 million euros is forecast for Corporate Center / Other.

The guidance of around 4.7 billion euros in EBIT before non-recurring effects for 2009 has also been reaffirmed.

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