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French Postal Bank reports higher 2007 results

Posted by | Apr 3, 2008 | |

France’s Banque Postale, the state-owned post office bank launched in 2006, reported a rise in earnings in 2007, despite strong competition, and said it would start offering consumer loans in 2009 or 2010.

The bank said its net attributable income grew 9.4 percent to 539.6 million euros (USD 843.2 million).

Last week it reported net banking income was 4.745 billion euros, up 2.2 percent or 5 percent when stripping out provisions and a gain on the sale of shares in Euronext.

Banque Postale, which is a subsidiary of the postal service with branches in post offices, said the year had seen heightened competition.

But it won 830,000 new accounts and now has 11 million postal accounts and 9.3 million active clients.

Other French banks such as BNP Paribas, Societe Generale SocGen or Credit Agricole lobbied against the creation of the post office bank because it was the only entity able to offer so-called Livret A savings accounts.

But since 2007 all banks can offer this account which offers tax benefits.

Chairman Patrick Werner said in a statement that 2008 would see a new boost for the group with a refreshed Internet site. Consumer credit sales were due to start in 2009 or 2010.

The bank also has several partnerships and can offer mortgages through the branch network of the MatMut mutual insurance group from CNP Assurances, in which it has an indirect stake of some 17.5 percent.

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DPD Ireland chooses Blackbay and Intermec to deliver mobile workforce solution

Posted by | Apr 3, 2008 | |

Blackbay today announced that DPD Ireland, formerly Interlink Ireland Ltd, has chosen Blackbay’s Delivery Connect mobile tracking solution to enable the real-time online tracking of deliveries for DPD Ireland’s customers. DPD Ireland, owned by La Poste, the French Post Office, and Ireland’s premier provider of next day parcel delivery, has awarded the contract worth in excess of GBP 1 million to Blackbay and global data capture hardware manufacturer Intermec.

The contract will see DPD Ireland implementing Blackbay’s Delivery Connect mobile software solution on Intermec’s integrated GPS and GPRS enabled CN3 rugged mobile computers. The CN3 will be rolled out to 600 couriers who will use the devices to track all deliveries from the point of collection through to proof of delivery.

Delivery Connect running on Intermec’s CN3 will enable DPD Ireland’s customers to track their parcels over the Internet in real-time. Ensuring the exact status and location of each delivery will be available at all times, reducing the need for customer queries.

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DPD Austria increases revenues and parcel volumes

Posted by | Apr 3, 2008 | |

DPD Austria is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year after generating higher revenues and parcel volumes in 2007.

The company increased its parcel volumes by 4.4 pct to 35.8 million parcels last year, 90 pct of which are domestic shipments and 10% are international items. DPD Austria’s revenues grew from EUR 138.7 million to EUR 142.9 million which equals revenue growth of 3 pct.
For 2008, the company expects moderate revenue growth of 1.5 pct as well as an increase in parcel volumes of 2.2 pct. DPD Austria employs around 1.400 people and operates a fleet of 900 vehicles.

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UPS opens new sorting centre in NW France

Posted by | Apr 3, 2008 | |

UPS has strengthened its business in France with the opening of a new sorting centre at Rennes in the north-west of the country. It also plans to upgrade its flights between Rennes and the European air hub in Cologne.

The new sorting office covers 2,400 sqm, employs 57 people and handles some 5,000 parcels a day, French newspaper Les Echos reported. This has enabled UPS to double the volumes it handles at the site.

Moreover, in September, UPS plans to replace the B737 on its Rennes-Cologne route with a larger B767 freighter, according to the newspaper. This will operate weekday flights on the route. In addition, a new UPS Academy will also be opened in Rennes to provide training for 200 new employees over the next two years.

The Rennes region is a major express market, local newspaper Ouest France reported. ”Local companies have dramatically growing needs to ship parcels to France or Europe. Two thirds of companies use express carriers,” explained Claude Thomas, UPS operations manager Western France.

UPS operates out of 90 locations in France and has more than 3,000 employees.

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DHL United Arab Emirates obtains superbrand status

Posted by | Apr 3, 2008 | |

DHL UAE was named one of the UAE’s strongest business brands during a recent celebration ceremony held at the Intercontinental, Dubai Festival City, Dubai.

Superbrands, the independent authority and arbiter of branding, presented the award to Elliott Santon, Marketing Manager for DHL Express, UAE. “To be voted as a Superbrand by the independent council is a powerful endorsement and evidence that DHL offers existing customers, potential customers, suppliers, investors and employees significant benefits that distinguish us from the competition” said Santon.

Eclipsing big names in the industry, DHL UAE was recognised for its outstanding achievements along with 68 household names from across the UAE and the world.

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Mintel Report: Credit card mailing volume continues to decrease

Posted by | Apr 3, 2008 | |

The estimated amount of direct mail sent by credit card companies in the United States dropped 3 pct from December 2007 to January 2008, according to research from Mintel Comperemedia, a media monitoring service.

The decrease is representative of a trend that first started in October. According to the report, mail sent by credit card companies has declined by 19 pct since October of 2007. Mintel Comperemedia speculated that the change in mail volume is the result of an “unsteady, unsure market.”

From December 2007 to January 2008, direct mail sent to current cardholders dropped by 30 pct, the report said. In contrast, mailings to non-customers increased by 7 pct.

During the same period last year, direct mail sent by credit card companies increased by 7 pct, Hronek said. Overall, there were more offers sent to both non-customers and existing customers last year. However, the year before that, from December 2005 to January 2006, there was a decrease of 5 pct, she added.

Not every credit card company decreased its direct mail efforts from December 2007 to January 2008. Six of the top 10 mailers of 2007 actually increased mailings to non-customers from December to January, Mintel Comperemedia said. However, four out of the 10 reduced mailings to non-customers and existing cardholders.

These top ten mailers included in the report were Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, HSBC, American Express, Capital One Bank, Discover, Washington Mutual, Barclays Bank and First Premier Bank, Hronek said.

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Middle Eastern postal market poised for growth

Posted by | Apr 2, 2008 | |

Postal operations in the Middle East have the potential to generate significant value, but they have limited time before regulatory liberalization and the spread of Internet commerce start to erode their competitive position, according to a new white paper.

• Middle Eastern postal companies today are like their European counterparts during the 1990s in facing abundant growth opportunities.

• The sector has begun to liberalize, slowly opening opportunities for new entrants.

• Immigrants in GCC countries are demanding value-added services.

• Low computer and Internet usage in GCC countries gives postal companies an additional advantage.

Middle Eastern postal companies can take advantage of several trends that Oliver Wyman expects to feed expansion and cross-selling opportunities in the region:

• Large existing post office networks and strong, recognized brands, such as UAE Post

• Large local populations and growing immigrant populations, which require basic services usually available at the local post office

• Regulated markets, which allow Middle Eastern postal companies to set barriers to entry much higher for new entrants as deregulation occurs. Bahrain already has a fully liberalized postal market and Egypt has committed to liberalization by 2009.

• Low penetration of PCs and the Internet at present, heavy reliance on cash transactions, and skepticism about online security

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