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Deutsche Post plans EUR 600 million writedown in U.S.

Posted by | Jan 23, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post AG said it will write down the value of its DHL Express unit’s Americas division as it struggles to compete with United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp.

Deutsche Post will write down 600 million euros (USD 874 million) of assets such as aircraft, trucks and office equipment, reducing 2007 net income, Chief Financial Officer John Allan said on a conference call. The move won’t affect Deutsche Post’s plans to raise the dividend by 20 percent, he said.

Deutsche Post last year scrapped a 2009 deadline for DHL to break even in the Americas, and some investors have called for the Bonn-based company to shed the unit. The carrier’s willingness to keep the business on its books suggests it plans to stay in the U.S. market, said Tim Sailor, principal of Navigo Consulting Group, a Long Beach, California-based firm that advises parcel shippers.

The decision will disappoint investors who want DHL to sell the unit, Damian Brewer, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in London, said in a note to clients.
The postal service bought the business in 2002 to expand its express-parcel delivery network and compete with Atlanta-based UPS and Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx in their home market.

Deutsche Post yesterday reiterated plans for a 2007 dividend of 90 euro cents a share.
The postal service will contract with other companies to handle some information-technology operations, leading to savings of at least 1 billion euros over seven years, Allan said today. Details of the plan, including the contractor, will be released tomorrow.

Deutsche Post announced plans last November to raise at least 1 billion euros from the sale of property to raise cash and attract investors. The postal service has generated more than 350 million euros of that amount so far, Allan said.

Shares fell 0.86 euro to 20.22 euros in German trading. UPS rose 5.6 percent today in New York trading, the most in more than six years, while FedEx climbed 4.8 percent, the most since September 2005.

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TNT lodges lawsuit against German state in dispute over minimum wage

Posted by | Jan 23, 2008 | |

TNT NV has lodged a lawsuit with a Berlin commercial court in a bid to have the alternative minimum wage it is paying its German-based workers to be declared valid in a dispute the Dutch postal company is locked in around the liberalisation of the German postal market.

TNT is paying its German workers 7.50 eur per hour and has filed the lawsuit against the German Finance Ministry and the Social Affairs Ministry, TNT spokesman Pieter Schaffels said.

Schaffels added that by implication, the lawsuit will also affect the minimum wage of 8-9.80 eur that Deutsche Post AG has already agreed on with trade union Verdi.

TNT claims legislation by the German Parliament imposing the minimum wage at the level paid by Deutsche Post on the national postal market is hindering liberalisation of the German market, stressing that only Deutsche Post can afford to have the minimum wage set at that level.

The Dutch postal group pointed out that, unlike its rivals, Deutsche Post enjoys a VAT exemption for 40 pct of its operations in Germany.

TNT is currently active in the value-added branch of the German postal market — where it sends letters picked up after 5 pm and delivers them by midday the following day — and has a minimum wage of 7.50 eur.

It had initially planned to compete with Deutsche Post in the universal sector from Jan 1, but has postponed any further investment in the German market.

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Deutsche Post World Net: Results 2007

Posted by | Jan 23, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post World Net announced today that 2007 results were in line with its expectations and guidance of around 3.7 billion euros EBIT before non-recurring effects. All divisions have met their targets with a sound finish to the year. “Overall, we saw good progress on an operating level in our business last year, with full-year underlying EBIT of 3.7 billion euros. In 2008, we will make further good progress, targeting around 4.2 billion euros EBIT,” said Chief Executive Officer Klaus Zumwinkel.

Work continues to identify the optimal solution to performance improvements in the U.S. EXPRESS business. Following an impairment review, a non-cash writedown on EXPRESS Americas fixed assets of around 600 million euros will be recognized in the 2007 accounts. Deutsche Post World Net still expects the EXPRESS division to make consistent progress in underlying profit and to reach an EBIT of between 900 million euros and 1.1 billion euros in 2009.

“The U.S. Express business is a key management priority and we are looking at a variety of options to improve performance. In doing so, we are committed to maintaining a significant presence in the U.S. market, which remains of strategic importance to the Group,” said Chief Financial Officer John Allan.

The Group is heavily focused on the implementation of its “Roadmap to Value” capital markets program. Real Estate disposals agreed on since the program was announced on Nov. 8, 2007 will generate more than 350 million euros in cash, representing good progress toward the target of at least 1 billion euros in proceeds over two years.

As a further measure to increase shareholder value, Deutsche Post World Net intends to partner with a third-party service provider for parts of its global IT infrastructure, generating long-term savings for the Group of at least 1 billion euros. Details of this plan are scheduled to be released tomorrow morning, Jan. 24, at 8 a.m. CET.

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PIN Group to pay statutory postal minimum wage to employees – report

Posted by | Jan 23, 2008 | |

PIN Group, the troubled German mail delivery company that has put itself up for sale, is to pay the statutory postal minimum wage to its employees, Focus Online reported, citing no sources.

The decision was made by the company’s new management led by Horst Piepenburg and will be announced within the next few days, it added.

Accordingly, the wages will be increased this month.

At the moment, the company pays its employees an average wage of 7.50 eur per hour.

However, since Jan 1, the statutory minimum wage is 8-9.80 eur.

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Now victims of crime have details lost in post in latest Government data bungle

Posted by | Jan 23, 2008 | |

Sensitive details about victims of crime may have fallen into the wrong hands in yet another lost data bungle by Government officials.
Four computer discs containing confidential details of magistrates court cases are missing after being posted through the Royal Mail.
The missing material includes details of at least 55 defendants and other “restricted” data not released in open court, potentially including the names and addresses of alleged victims and witnesses.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed last night that an urgent inquiry is under way following the latest in a string of blunders, which have seen the personal details of millions lost by the Government.
Last night critics called for a ban on personal data being posted, and called for a new criminal offence of “recklessly mishandling” such material.
In November officials at HM Revenue and Customs lost the entire child benefit database, and earlier this week the Ministry of Defence admitted that a laptop stolen from a Naval officer contained details of 600,000 military staff and potential recruits – leading to a ban on civil servants taking laptops out of offices.
The latest department to come under fire is Jack Straw’s Ministry of Justice.
The courtroom data discs were posted by recorded delivery on December 15 but never arrived, according to insiders.
To compound the humiliation, the discs were being sent as part of an urgent investigation Mr Straw had ordered into a separate fiasco.
The inquiry is into claims that hundreds of magistrates court cases have been quietly dropped when defendants failed to turn up, meaning that many suspects, including sex offenders, may have escaped justice.
As part of efforts to investigate the scandal, court officials put data on the four computer discs which are now missing.
Ministry of Justice officials refused to comment on exactly what “restricted” data had been lost.

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European public postal operators show support to 2020 EU emissions target

Posted by | Jan 23, 2008 | |

PostEurop, the association of European public postal operators reiterates today its support to the 2020 EU emission target. 14 of its members have already agreed to an ambitious average 10pct reduction of their greenhouse gas emissions over the next five years and more PostEurop Members are expected to commit to the voluntary programme.

The European Commission has agreed this week on a package of proposals that will deliver the European Council’s commitments to fight climate change. The proposals demonstrate that the targets agreed last year are technologically and economically possible and provide a unique business opportunity for thousands of European companies. As agreed by its leaders in March 2007, the EU seeks to reduce greenhouse gases by at least 20 pct by 2020.

The postal sector in Europe, through the very nature of its activities, has an impact on the environment, mostly in the form of greenhouse gas emissions. Most of these CO2 emissions result from the use of road transport, aviation and building energy usage also contributing significantly.

There is however considerable scope for improvement and as a vital sector of the European economy, the postal sector is committed to providing an example, by working closely with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders in order to reduce the whole sector’s impact in Europe and worldwide.

Elaborated by PostEurop’s Environment Working Group under the authority of the Social Responsibility Committee, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programme is fully in line with the Kyoto Protocol and the European Climate Change Programme targets. Its aim is to measure and assess the reduction efforts of participating postal operators and to create synergies by exchanging best practices in that field.

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FedEx Among ''Best Companies to Work For,'' says FORTUNE Magazine

Posted by | Jan 22, 2008 | |

FORTUNE magazine and the Great Places to Work Institute today pronounced FedEx as among the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States.

Motivated, committed team members providing the highest possible service levels is what separates us from the competition, Smith said. Putting people first makes very good business sense and is the right thing to do.

FedEx has been honored as one of the Best Companies to Work For in 10 of the past 11 years and was named to the Best Companies to Work For Hall of Fame in 2005. FedEx also has been consistently ranked in FORTUNEs Global Most Admired Companies and Americas Most Admired Companies lists since 2002 and 2001, respectively.

Of the companies honored this year, FedEx was:

– The largest employer on the 2008 Best Companies to Work For list;
– The only shipping company included;
– Recognized for its no-layoff philosophy and promoting from within;
– Noted for its diverse workforce;
– Ranked as 97th overall;

To pick the 100 Best Companies to Work for, FORTUNE works with Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz of the Great Place to Work Institute to conduct the most extensive employee survey in corporate America.

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Q-Post hit by a huge rise in inflation rate

Posted by | Jan 22, 2008 | |

Rising inflation badly hit the country’s postal sector last year, said Q-Post chairman Ali Mohamed al-Ali yesterday.

The chairman said the country’s postal corporation suffered heavily in 2007 because of the unprecedented inflation witnessed by Qatar.

Al-Ali said premises that the Q-Post used to acquire for as low as Q R1,500 a month for its operations in the city or suburbs was now costing at least five times more.
“As a result, our overheads on various fronts have increased considerably.”

The chairman also informed that the pay rise the Q-Post gave to its staff, both nationals and expatriates, in December 2006 too had taken a heavy toll on the corporation’s operations.

Al-Ali said the annual salary bills of the staff alone amounted to QR65mn.

Answering another query, the chairman said the postal corporation used to receive a financial support of QR52mn a year from the government until a few years ago. “That is no longer there. The absence of such financial support from the government had hit our operations hard.”

The implementation of e-cash in government transactions has also hit the corporation badly as revenues from the sales of tax and other revenue stamps that it used to receive had started going directly to the government, said al-Ali.

Despite all these, the corporation is making efforts to be self-reliant through the diversification of its businesses in a highly competitive environment, said al-Ali.
The chairman pointed out that in all large countries where the postal sector is still active; the governments had provided at least 80 pct budgetary support to their operations.

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