Portugal’s post operator CTT-Correios de Portugal bought a 51 pct stake in local archive management company EAD – Empresa de Arquivo de Documentacao, Portuguese daily Jornal de Negocios reported on November 29, 2005. The sum of the operation was not disclosed. EAD’s founder and board of directors chairman Paulo Veiga remained the holder of the remaining 49 pct.
Read MoreThe Spanish government is looking to shake up the national postal market and reduce the dominance of Correos y Telegrafos, the public operator. Correos controls 93 per cent of what is ostensibly a deregulated market and has exclusive contracts to provide postal services to the state, its single biggest client, which accounts for 20.5 per cent of Correos’ annual turnover of more than 1.7bn euros. These contracts should actually be put out to tender on a cost and merit basis, the government has decided.
Read MorePostcomm, which had been due to publish the price controls for 2006-10 this month, rejected suggestions the delay until next week was due to rows with Royal Mail and the government. It said its work had been put back by the amount of material submitted during its consultation on the price control proposals.
Read MorePost and energy watchdogs were blasted by MPs today for performing “feebly” in protecting consumers despite spiralling costs to the taxpayer. The Public Accounts Committee said despite being set up five years ago, Energywatch and Postwatch had failed to stem the tide of complaints about services. It said the bodies should quit expensive London headquarters as part of a cost-cutting drive and make far more efforts to ensure the public were aware of the help available. Designed as consumer champions, they have handled more than 300,000 complaints about issues such as lost mail, post office closures, wrong energy bills and aggressive sales tactics and won compensation for some users. But today’s report said the watchdogs’ overall record had been “unimpressive” with complaints about post services rising every year and those about energy not being reduced. Less than three quarters of consumers were satisfied with the service they got from Postwatch.
Read MoreDeutsche Post has experienced problems with the integration of the US activities of DHL, its express and logistics subsidiary, after reducing the number of hubs it uses for its air freight operations in the US from two to one. This led to a delay in some deliveries, as a result of which the company lost customers and registered a drop in turnover in September and October. The company says that the drop in turnover totalled USD280m, which corresponds to 5 to 6 per cent of its overall turnover in the US. DHL says that it has since compensated for this setback, although it took until mid-October to return to the same level of service as before the integration of these activities.
Read MoreTNT Express today announced that it is investing USD810,000 in new facilities in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain (UAE) to establish closer links with its customers and provide them with a greater variety of products. The facilities – to open by the end of the year – are a direct response to TNT’s growth in the Emirates region, as Abu Dhabi in particular, strives to expand at the same rate as Dubai. With the high street outlet in Al Ain offering a full range of products, services and sales staff to provide assistance, the aim is also to serve the increasing needs of our customers. “Many of TNT’s regular customers operate from branches in Al Ain, so this new office will facilitate better communications, performance and delivery,” said Mark Pell, TNT Managing Director, Gulf. “Historically we have serviced Al Ain from Dubai but now we are looking to provide local resources to this market. TNT’s new outlet will establish the company’s presence in Al Ain and will be followed by additional facilities over the next twelve months”, continued Pell.
Read MoreGermany’s Deutsche Post still expects its DHL unit to meet its long-term goals in the United States despite a negative financial impact from the integration of its air operations at Wilmington, Ohio. The company said on Monday that although the September hub integration was a disappointment, the effects should not be enough to cause a long-term deviation from the division’s overall financial objectives. “Despite inevitable temporary setbacks, the progress being made in the US leaves us confident that our overall strategy and direction are correct, and that long-term objectives can be met,” Deutsche Post said in a statement released at a capital markets presentation in New York and quoted by Reuters. The company added that “trading conditions remain competitively tough but relatively stable.”
Read MoreSpanish state-run postal services provider Correos bought 297 new vehicles for 2.5 mln euro ($2.9 mln) in order to renew and increase its fleet, the company said on November 25, 2005.
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