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Axel Springer slumps to FY net loss of 288 mln eur on PIN writedown

Posted by | Mar 3, 2008 | |

Axel Springer AG said it posted a full-year net loss of 288 mln eur, compared with a year-earlier profit of 291 mln, after the company wrote down the value of postal service unit PIN Group AG.

Axel Springer already said last year it expects to write down the value of PIN Group, in which it holds a majority stake, by up to 620 mln eur after talks with the other owners to finance the business failed.

Earnings before interest, tax and amortization, adjusted for one-time items, rose 12.5 pct year-on-year to 422 mln eur, Axel Springer said in a statement today.

Sales rose to 2.578 bln eur from 2.376 bln a year earlier, excluding revenues from PIN Group, which is reported under discontinued activities.

Axel Springer also said it will hike dividend payments to shareholders to a record level of 4.00 eur per share from 3.50 eur in 2006.

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Delivery transparency key to good online shopping experience (UK)

Posted by | Mar 3, 2008 | |

Clear information on delivery charges and the ability to track the progress of items ordered are important factors in a good online shopping experience, a Royal Mail study has revealed.

Eight out of ten (84 per cent) of online shoppers expect clear delivery information before they place their order, while 81 per cent want the option to specify a delivery address for their goods and 77 per cent like to be kept updated on the progress of their order.

The study revealed that 19 in 20 online shoppers have abandoned a shopping basket with 37 per cent doing so regularly. More than four in ten people (42 per cent) ended their transaction before check-out because of the delivery charge.

And a good delivery experience comes only second to price in the overall shopping experience and is considered more important than shopping from established websites, well-known brands or having a large range of goods. 94 per cent of people are likely to shop again from an online retailer if they are happy with the delivery of their goods.

Val Walker, Head of Multi-Channel Retail at Royal Mail, said: “With 39 per cent of people now shopping online, and becoming increasingly comfortable with the process, delivery details and options are a primary influence on consumers’ choice of online retailer.

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Union rejects Royal Mail reform (UK)

Posted by | Mar 3, 2008 | |

Unions are holding a consultative ballot after the closure of the company’s own consultation.

They say a strike ballot could follow if the Royal Mail does not improve the pension benefits on offer.

The firm plans to reduce the final salary scheme for new and current members and raise the retirement age.

“Overall the proposal will cost people over 34% in their pensions, one way or another,” said Paul Reuter, an official of the postal managers union Unite.

“If there is no improvement then we shall move to a strike ballot,” he said.

The main features of the company’s plan to cut its long-term pension costs are:

– a career average scheme to replace the current final salary version from 1 April 2008 for existing staff
– the standard retirement age to rise from 60 to 65 in 2010, though only for service after that date
– new recruits to be offered a separate “money purchase” scheme
– staff will continue to contribute 6 pct of salaries a year.

Under a career average scheme, a member’s eventual pension will be related to their salary in each year of their career, rather than to their salary in their final year of employment, thus guaranteeing that most staff will get a smaller pension.

Last autumn postal staff voted to end a series of strikes over their employer’s plans to bring in new working methods as well as the changes to the pension scheme.

However, those proposals required further legal consultation with the staff, which saw 165,000 employees being sent a 44-page booklet outlining the impact of the changes.

At the time the Royal Mail claimed it had “the union’s support for the company’s overall proposed pension reform,” although the unions said at the time that their position had been misrepresented.

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PIN Group announces first unit closures

Posted by | Mar 3, 2008 | |

Insolvent German mail operator PIN Group announced the closure of a first unit in Germany and its subsidiary PIN West Mail, effective from March 1, 2008.

As much as 582 jobs are to be cut in two German cities, while the company has already cut some 680 jobs in different cities in Germany, said Bruno Kübler, financial administrator of the PIN Group holding company.

According to a report in the Financial Times Deutschland, PIN Group’s CEO is leading intense talks with investors over the sale of the whole group and the spokesman said there was still hope for a successful deal. A few days ago Kübler declared that the closure and insolvency of several PIN Group units did not rule out the possibility of a sale of the entire company later. The units could then be integrated and the laid-off employees could get their jobs back.

PIN Group employs around 9,000 at 91 sites across Germany. For the insolvency it has filed 37 of its units with a staff of 7,000. The insolvency payments at a dozen of the mentioned units will stop from the end of February 2008.

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DHL Japan fuel cell car on display at FC Expo 2008

Posted by | Mar 3, 2008 | |

DHL and pilot user of the Daimler AG (DAG) vehicle was proud to contribute to the display of this environmentally-friendly vehicle by Mercedes-Benz Japan Co., Ltd. (MBJ) at the 4th Int’l Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Expo (FC EXPO 2008), which took place at Tokyo Big Sight from 27 – 29 February 2008. DHL has been using the model since July 2006 as part of its Green Logistics environmental initiative in Japan.

As part of DHL’s global green logistics initiative – launched in Japan in July 2006 – DHL Japan introduced the F-cell to its vehicle fleet. The F-cell, the world’s first mass-produced fuel-cell car, is modeled on the Mercedes-Benz A Class and is powered by compressed hydrogen. DHL has been testing the vehicle under actual working conditions by using it for the collection and delivery of documents in downtown Tokyo, especially in the bustling Otemachi district.

Data from the tests are collected by MBJ for use in systematic improvement and development of fuel-cell vehicles by DAG, the manufacturer. MBJ’s efforts are in accordance with the Japan Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Demonstration Project, which aims to verify and evaluate a variety of effects regarding the use of fuel-cell vehicles and hydrogen energy through actual use in business operations.

In Japan, DHL uses hybrid trucks and bicycles, as well as the F-cell vehicle, to help reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases.
DHL is steadily expanding its use of alternative fuels and promoting environmentally efficient transport methods in its ground, sea and air operations around the world.

The contract logistics arm of DHL – DHL Exel Supply Chain aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by facilitating partnerships between shippers and logistics suppliers under the Green Logistics Partnership Project.

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Royal Mail: Decision on Pension Plan Reform (UK)

Posted by | Mar 3, 2008 | |

Royal Mail has announced the outcome of its consultation on changes to its pension plan – 12 months after first proposing amending the scheme.

The changes follow extensive talks with unions and employee representatives since last April, which resulted in major changes to the original proposals, followed by a formal consultation with every employee member of the pension plan lasting more than 60 days from last November to mid-January this year.

Royal Mail reiterated the announcement made last autumn that both the CWU and Unite had agreed to support the changes as part of wider agreements with each on pay, modernisation and pension reform.

Details of the changes to the plan are being sent to every employee. The key points are:
• All pension benefits earned before 1 April 2008 will be protected and linked to final salary at the time of retirement.
• Employees can continue to take their pension on reaching 60 but the normal retirement age will increase to 65 from 1 April 2010. It will be possible to draw a pension at the age of 60 and continue working while still contributing into the pension plan until the maximum level of contributions has been reached.
• From 1 April 2008, benefits building up for employee members of the plan will be earned on a Career Salary basis.
• The plan will close to new members from 31 March 2008.
• A new defined contribution scheme will be launched in April 2009 and new recruits joining the company after 31 March 2008 will be able to join it after they have worked for the company for a year.

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Cost of postal services goes up by 25 pct in Samoa

Posted by | Mar 3, 2008 | |

The prices of domestic and international postal services in Samoa have gone up by 25 pct

Samoa Post’s acting general manager, Tupe Ualolo Nun Yan, says the tariff increase is inevitable and long overdue.

He explains that postal costs have gone up considerably since the postal tariff review for international mail in 2006, and the domestic mail review in 1994.

The increase is to offset the higher postal costs which have been caused by rising overseas and domestic delivery charges, freight, VAGST and inflation.

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Labour union Ver.di against possible sale of Deutsche Postbank

Posted by | Mar 2, 2008 | |

Members of the Ver.di labour union are preparing to voice their opposition to a possible sale of Deutsche Postbank AG at the supervisory board meeting of its parent company Deutsche Post AG on Monday.

‘A healthy company, like Postbank which makes one bln eur pre-tax profit, can exist by itself and should exist by itself,’ Gerd Tausendfreund, Ver.di member on Postbank’s supervisory board told Euro am Sonntag.

The union said it expects if the bank were sold or merged with another bank there would be likely job cuts. Above all, the IT department at Germany’s largest bank would probably be hardest hit, the newspaper said.

Tausendfreund said the entire part of the supervisory board which represents workers is against a sale.

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