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Poste Italiane: Sixth consecutive year in profit

Posted by | Mar 26, 2008 | |

Poste Italiane’s Board of Directors led by Chairman Vittorio Mincato have approved the consolidated financial statements for 2007 and the Parent Company’s separate financial statements for the same year. Both documents were prepared under international financial reporting standards (IFRS ).

The shareholders will also be called to appoint the new Board of Directors in charge for 2008-2010.

The Poste Italiane Group, led by Massimo Sarmi, announces a positive operating performance for the sixth consecutive year, with net profit of EUR 843.6 million up 25pct on the previous year (EUR 675.7 million), operating profit of EUR 1.77 billion up 19pct (EUR 1.49 billion in 2006) and an EBIT margin of 15.5pct , which is once again the highest among European postal services providers.

Total revenue of EUR 17.2 billion (EUR 17.1 billion in 2006) primarily reflects the good performances recorded by all business segments, with improvements in operating profit (Financial Services up 2.7pct and Postal Services up 3.8pct ) and external revenue at the Parent Company rising 3.8pct to EUR 9.1 billion.

The Parent Company’s net profit is EUR 704.4 million (EUR 483.3 million in 2006), marking an increase of 45.7pct on the previous year.

Six consecutive years of strong earnings growth are the result of constant extension of the Group’s offerings, ongoing improvements in efficiency and the introduction of best human resource management practices. The strategy has focused on launching innovative, secure and accessible postal, financial and mobile telecommunications products.

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USPS offers data table file identifying vacant addresses

Posted by | Mar 26, 2008 | |

In order to help mailers identify vacant addresses, the US Postal Service has developed a new data table file to be used with commercial address matching software.

“What the postal service is attempting to do is provide additional tools to help mailers identify mail that can become undeliverable-as-addressed,” said Jim Wilson, manager of address technology for USPS. “We recognize that mail going to vacant addresses was one of the more common reasons why mail was undeliverable.”

According to the USPS, in 2004 more than 9.7 billion mail pieces were sent to undeliverable addresses, of which over 600 million pieces were sent to “vacant” addresses. An address is considered vacant if that house, apartment, office or building has not been occupied in at least 90 days.

The new “vacant” table is available to the mailing industry Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) address matching software, which incorporates the Delivery Point Validation product, a table of all the valid addresses that the USPS delivers to on a daily basis. By using USPS-approved CASS software, mailers can qualify for automation or postage discounts, Wilson said.

The USPS also offers a “no-stat” table that identifies addresses that are in the process of “being built,” Wilson said. It is typically an address that has been assigned, but the USPS has not yet begun making delivery to it yet, he said.

Mailers should contact their Delivery Point Validation product vendor to find out if the new “vacant” table is incorporated into address matching products they use.

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Seur inaugurates the first “Seur store” in Denia

Posted by | Mar 26, 2008 | |

SEUR has created a new kind of sales channel with the SEUR Store which it is inaugurating today in Denia. SEUR Stores are designed to offer all the accessory services required in the express transport sector. The sale of packaging and office materials, copying and binding services, fax, mobile phone top-ups and pre-paid telephone cards and packs are just some of the services offered to SEUR customers at a “SEUR Store”.

SEUR Stores offer customers an integrated service that is designed to respond to their specific individual requirements. The company is developing this new concept as a key factor in the future growth of its retail outlets division.

Mercedes García, General Manager of Sales and Marketing, underlines the importance of this Store’s inauguration: “In a sector in which the services on offer are showing a tendency towards standardisation, it is important to create solutions that cater for our customers’ specific requirements. The SEUR Store in Denia is a pilot project that gives shape to the expansion model for our retail outlets”.

With the inauguration of this new Store, SEUR now has 14 outlets in the Province of Alicante. The SEUR Store in Denia can be found at a geographically strategic site in a town whose population increases three-fold during the summer, making it an ideal location.

In Alicante, SEUR recorded a turnover of EUR 19 million during 2007, carrying 2,700,000 consignments in the province. It forecasts growth of around 7 pct for the coming twelve months, in line with the company’s overall growth figure.

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Florence Noblot appointed CEO of DHL International Express France

Posted by | Mar 26, 2008 | |

Florence Noblot has been appointed CEO of the express air business of DHL France. Florence Noblot is heading a business unit with a workforce of 1,500 employees located at 35 sites. She will primarily be responsible for setting up DHL’s new air network in France that is linked to the opening of the new European hub at Leipzig.
Backed by 15 years of experience within DHL, Florence Noblot fully understands transport, logistics and the expectations of customers. She worked for five years at the European headquarters in Brussels and for five years in Singapore and Shanghai, at the center of DHL’s Key Account structure. She has been Vice President of DHL Global Customer Solutions for the Asia-Pacific region since May 2006, managing DHL’s 100 major international customers.
In taking up her new duties as CEO of DHL International Express France, Florence Noblot joins the DHL Express Europe Divisional Board and will report directly to Scott Price, CEO DHL Express Europe.

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DHL confers Preferred Carrier status on Malaysia Airlines Cargo

Posted by | Mar 26, 2008 | |

DHL Global Forwarding announced today that Malaysia Airlines Cargo has been awarded Preferred Carrier status. At the same time, the two companies also entered a strategic air cargo security partnership agreement, which aims to develop standard operating procedures that support and fulfill customer and governmental security requirements.

Malaysia Airlines Cargo joins the ranks of other major international carriers, under DHL’s Preferred Carrier Program, which have strengthened their relationships with DHL Global Forwarding through long-term partnerships, putting in place essential cargo support mechanisms and offering operational and pricing flexibility.

The security partnership agreement will, among other things, help create a safer environment for DHL and Malaysia Airlines Cargo employees who handle high-value and high-risk products. The partnership will make DHL a more attractive forwarder for customers shipping high-value or sensitive goods.

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Postal union's plea to businesses (UK)

Posted by | Mar 26, 2008 | |

Postal workers have sent letters to firms asking for support over the proposed closure of a sorting and delivery office.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) sent letters to about 350 firms in Stoke-on-Trent over the closure of the Royal Mail office in Leek Road.

It says closing the depot will delay post and be bad for the local economy.

Royal Mail says it is looking for a new office to improve service to customers as well as staff working conditions.

Andy Plant, of the CWU, said it had already received about 60 responses from firms.

“Every single one registered their concern over the removal of services from Stoke-on-Trent,” he said.

Mr Plant said the closure would cause delays to postal deliveries.

“There will be delays in the pipeline – in orders, cheques – which will have an impact on these local economies, ” he said.

‘Downturn in quality’

The union says the move would mean all of Stoke-on-Trent’s post being sorted in Wolverhampton.

Mr Plant said about 70% of Stoke-on-Trent’s post was now sorted in Wolverhampton which had led to “downturn in the quality of service over the last 10 years”.

Royal Mail says the move would mean mail being processed in Wolverhampton but that a suitable site for a delivery office had not been identified but was “likely to be within the Stoke/Hanley” area.

Royal Mail’s Area General Manager Tom Willis said: “The additional space will also allow us to make our delivery operation run as smoothly as possible with the end result of improving the service we provide to our customers across the region.”

Royal Mail also says there would be no compulsory redundancies as a result of the move.

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US Postal Service can't account for millions

Posted by | Mar 26, 2008 | |

The U.S. Postal Service can’t account for at least USD 33.4 million in facilities-repair and vehicle expenses last year because of weak controls and lax oversight, two reports from the agency’s inspector general’s office said.

The Postal Service couldn’t assure that any of the USD 27.6 million in maintenance and repair expenses at facilities examined by auditors were used for that purpose, according to one of the reports posted on the agency’s Web site.

Some supervisors weren’t aware that they were responsible for overseeing expenses, that audit found. Other employees with limited knowledge of the repairs certified that they were properly done by contractors.

Without standard procedures, “the safety, security and serviceability of Postal Service facilities, employees and customers are at increased risk,” the March 3 report said. And without established controls over contractors, “there is an increased risk of fraud and abuse,” it said.

The audit covered facilities in all or part of 33 states, including Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio, Postal Service spokesman David Partenheimer said.

Another audit found that postal vehicles on some city routes in 15 states had more than USD 5.8 million in questionable costs. Some vehicles were logged in as having traveled millions of miles in a single accounting period, while others were recorded as having gone a negative number of miles, the March 4 report said.

The findings come as the Postal Service, a government agency required by law to set rates to cover costs, tries to cope with a possible USD 2 billion loss this year after a USD 5.1 billion deficit last year. Postmaster General Chief Executive John Potter said this month that he’s seeking ways to cut costs. First-class stamps will rise a penny to 42 cents on May 12.

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