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UPS marks 100th birthday with USD 1 million for micro-lending

Posted by | Oct 31, 2007 | |

In honour of its 100th birthday, UPS has created a Centennial Grants Fund and awarded USD 1 million to three global micro-lending organizations. The funds will be used to support programs for entrepreneurs on three continents, including loans to grow small businesses.

“In this year of UPS’s Centennial, there could be no better way to celebrate founder Jim Casey’s entrepreneurial spirit than to award grants to foster opportunities for entrepreneurs around the world,” said Lisa Hamilton, president of The UPS Foundation. “UPS was founded in 1907 by a 19-year-old Casey, who borrowed $100 to start a bicycle messenger business. Today, his company is the largest package delivery firm in the world.”

Grant recipients include:

– Opportunity International: USD 390,000
– ACCION International: USD 400,000
– FINCA International: USD 210,000

According to Hamilton, creation of the Centennial Grants Fund marks the first time UPS has concentrated such a large portion of its giving on micro-lending.

UPS chose FINCA, Opportunity International and ACCION because of their proven success record as micro-lenders, their ability to measure the impact of their programs and their presence in global markets. The organizations also are well-recognized for the financial literacy and business training that goes along with their loans, ensuring that the businesses they fund are successful.

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Ciblex has seen significant growth in its income.

Posted by | Oct 31, 2007 | |

Ciblex completed its accounts for the tax year on 30 June 2007 and posted another year of growth both in turnover and income. This growth shows the long term value of the strategy adoopted by Ciblex, built on:
– A targeted position and development in niche markets in which Ciblex delivers tailored
solutions.
– A quality policy which produces performances which our customers perceive to be superior to those of the competition.
– A loyal, competent, motivated team.

Good results from the group and the various national units…
– Ciblex France: Turnover up by 6.8 pct at EUR 134.6 million (on an operating income of EUR 1,034 million).
This last figure should be put in the context of the negative impact of the new regulations restricting the speed of heavy goods vehicles to 90km/h, effective from 1 January 2007.

This has complicated the operations, leading to extra structural costs.
– Ciblex Belgium: excellent performance with TO of EUR 18.5 million up + 6.3 pct (and operating income of EUR 2,774 million ).
– Ciblex Netherlands: subsidiary created in October 2004, achieved TO of EUR 1,970 million , up 116 pct (and operating income of EUR 323 000 , in balance in the previous year).

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Express Delivery under Pressure to Add More Value as Parcel Service Closes the Gap

Posted by | Oct 31, 2007 | |

Europe’s parcel and express delivery business is expected to continue to grow at a higher rate than in previous years due to an increase in business-to-consumer (B2C) traffic and strong international demand, according to new research by market analyst Datamonitor.

However, the research, “European Express Market Map 2008,” which covers 12 major European markets, says that although currently exhibiting a higher growth rate than parcel services, express services are going to have to demonstrate extra value as customer demand is shifting to using cheaper yet reliable parcel services in key growth areas of international and business-to-consumer (B2C) delivery services.

“Over the next five years, the B2C and C2C (consumer-to-consumer) sectors will experience faster growth than B2B (business-to-business), due to increased e-commerce activity, especially in less mature home delivery markets such as Italy and Spain,” said Erik van Baaren, Datamonitor express analyst and author of the study.

International services are also growing at a higher rate primarily due to the enlargement of the European Union and the trend to centralize operations to fewer countries and outsource manufacturing to low-cost countries, according to van Baaren.

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Minister for Transport inaugurates DHL's state-of-the-art hub

Posted by | Oct 31, 2007 | |

DHL Express officially opened its new purpose-built hub today near Dublin Airport. Minister for Transport, Mr. Noel Dempsey T.D., officiated at the opening of the premises in Dublin Airport Logistics Park. The new hub is central to DHL’s strategic development plan for its business in Ireland. The facility will be the focal point for all DHL’s international air express, road express and domestic delivery services.

The purpose-built hub, which is located on a 13 acre site, utilises the latest state-of-the-art technology including a highly sophisticated automated sortation system which contains over 700 meters of conveyors and is capable of handling up to 7,000 parcels per hour. The system automatically routes national and international shipments to one of 118 pick-up and delivery doors, 24 cross-dock doors and 30 line-haul doors for distribution via the DHL national and international networks. Shipments for delivery to more than 220 countries serviced by DHL are consolidated on airline containers to connect with DHL’s A300 airbus cargo aircraft nightly service from Dublin airport.

Bernard McCarthy, Director & General Manager of DHL Express in Ireland, said at today’s official opening, “The completion of the new hub is a significant milestone for DHL Express in Ireland and reinforces our commitment to invest in our infrastructure and to further improve the services we offer to Irish businesses. The new facility is the centrepiece of our operational network in Ireland and will ensure that we are well positioned to meet the growing needs of our customers throughout the country.”

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Changes to Swiss Post Executive Management

Posted by | Oct 31, 2007 | |

At its meeting on 29 October 2007, the Board of Directors of Swiss Post appointed Markus Zenhäusern as Head of Finance and as a member of Executive Management effective 1 June 2008. He replaces Hans-Peter Strodel, who will retire on that date.

In appointing Markus Zenhäusern, 45, the Board of Directors has selected a distinguished financial specialist with a broad range of experience in controlling, international finance and accounting, as well as in transfer price systems and the integration of companies in the context of mergers and acquisitions. After graduating from the University of St. Gallen with a degree in business administration, Markus Zenhäusern took a PhD at the University of Fribourg.

Hans-Peter Strodel left the private sector in 1995 to join what was then Switzerland’s PTT administration as Director of Finance and Controlling and was appointed Swiss Post’s Head of Finance in 1996. In this capacity he served as a member of the Executive Management from 1 January 1998 onward. As Head of Finance, he was responsible for the establishment of modern accounting and management information systems as well as insurance and risk management as the basis for the new Group financial management. The strategic reorientation of Swiss Post’s real estate operations formed a further focal point of his work.

During this period, Swiss Post Group saw its sales grow from CHF 5.6 billion to nearly CHF 9 billion, while Group profit increased from CHF 239 to more than CHF 800 million and Swiss Post’s scope of consolidation expanded from just over a dozen to nearly 100 companies in 19 countries.

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Royal Mail hit by pension costs

Posted by | Oct 31, 2007 | |

The group posted earnings of GBP 233m, but said that but for a £75m government loan, this figure would have fallen to GBP 158m – half the GBP 355m made last year.

Pressures from rising pension costs, falling mail volumes and increased competition were blamed.

The figures do not cover the period over the summer when Royal Mail was hit by a series of strikes.

Declining volumes of post, competition in the mail market and the rising use of electronic communication, such as e-mail, continued to eat into Royal Mail’s letters business, with revenues down GBP 78m during the first five trading months of 2007-08 on the previous year.

The revenue fall came despite a rise in postage prices in April.

We anticipate that the company’s current level of contributions to the pension plan will reduce to 22 pct in five years’ time from the existing level of 30 pct.

Royal Mail

These factors, in addition to the “huge investment” that the group is about to make to update its business practices, mean that Royal Mail will make no profit this year or in its 2008-09 period.

And it said that without the contribution from its unregulated European parcel delivery service, General Logistics Systems, one of the few areas of growth for the Royal Mail last year, the group would become loss-making.

There was no indication of the cost to its business from the strikes organised by the main postal union, the Communication Workers Union, between June and October.

Industry observers estimated that about GBP 260m was knocked off profits during this period as a bitter dispute over the firm’s modernisation plans, including unpopular reforms to its pension scheme and radical changes to working practices, led to a series of walkouts.

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Royal Mail Chief pockets GBP 1.1m as profits dive

Posted by | Oct 31, 2007 | |

Royal Mail’s Chief Executive, Adam Crozier, has been awarded GBP 1.12 million in pay and bonuses as the strike-ridden UK postal service reported a 34.3 per cent fall in profits as a result of increasing pension costs.

The group also revealed today it only expects to break even in the current financial year because of funding its company pension plan, increased investment and falling postal volumes.

Mr Crozier, who was criticised during the recent postal crisis for allegedly failing to attend talks with unions, was paid a basic GBP 633,000 as well as a GBP 469,000 performance-related bonus, some of which has been deferred into a long-term incentive scheme. With GBP 18,000 in benefits, Mr Crozier was rewarded a total £1.12 million.

Allan Leighton, Non-Executive Chairman at Royal Mail, who recruited Mr Crozier in 2003, was paid a performance-related bonus of GBP 200,000 on top of GBP 20,000 in basic pay.

The group admitted that the same competition and volume factors had impacted current trading, with profits down by GBP 78 million in the first five months of the financial year.

Royal Mail said today: “Key issues for the company as we move forward are the continuing high cost of funding the pension scheme, the continuing decline in volumes as customers move to other forms of communication and the beginning of the huge investment we will now make in the modernisation of the company.

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Postal services to start Hybrid mail next month

Posted by | Oct 31, 2007 | |

The Postal Services Department will be introducing a new service, Hybrid Mail, in November, Postmaster General Hj Abd Kadir Tengah disclosed recently.

Hybrid mail allows customers to send in their letters via e-mail to the department, which will then sort it out electronically, prints it and delivers it in physical form to the intended recipient.

The introduction of the service is to ensure the rapid process and delivery of letters to customers.

During the gathering, the postmaster general also mentioned the department’s progress since last year, in particular the 92 per cent rise in delivery services for the month of September 2007 alone.

The performance of their counter services, considered as the frontline of the postal department, is at their best, said the postmaster general, who added that the department is currently offering the best services to the public especially with the addition of modernised equipment such as automated counter services.

In addition to the upgrading of its equipment, the department is also constantly encouraging its human resource and service staff to improve them selves, so that the quality of service will also be upgraded.

Department employees are given the opportunity to join training programs whether in the country or overseas, to keep them up-to-date with the current postal processes and services available in the world.

Hj Abd Kadir pointed out two factors that are of importance to the progress and development of the department: courier services and ICT.

The postmaster general also highlighted the challenges that the department faces, in particular maintaining its overall sustainability.

The department is determined to maintain its focus on its overall services, especially its quality and functions, so that everything it does is relevant and appropriate towards its aim of becoming a communication hub and connecting the community.

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