KarstadtQuelle AG sold its stake in paper wholesaler Europapier AG to Bertelsmann AG unit Arvato at the end of last month, a spokesman for the German retailer told dpa-AFX news agency. He declined to comment on financial details.
The next project on the agenda is the sale of the MDAX-listed company’s logistics operations, he said, adding there are ongoing talks with Deutsche Post
World Net AG’s unit DHL.
FedEx Corporation today reaffirmed its previous guidance of USD 0.90 to USD 1.00 per diluted share for the third quarter ending February 28, 2005. “FedEx experienced a strong holiday season,” said Alan B. Graf Jr., executive vice president and chief financial officer. “We continue to see favorable US and global economic conditions and demand for all of our transportation services is strong.”
Read MoreDeutsche Post World Net AG unit DHL said it has won a 5-year contract to handle warehousing and distribution for Deutsche Telekom AG units T-Mobile and T-Com, beginning Sept 1. No financial details were disclosed. DHL and Deutsche Telekom have been cooperating on logistics operations since 2000.
Read MoreSpanish postal services operator, Correos, has signed an agreement with Telefonica, the Spanish telecommunications group. Under the terms of the agreement, Correos will accept payment Telefonica customers at all 1,857 of its computerised branches throughout Spain.
Read MoreDemonstrating French tobacconists in the southwestern region of Gironde seized a mail sorting centre on Friday to protest about unfair competition from French postal operator La Poste. The tobacconists said that local post offices are encroaching on their business by selling additional products such as mobile phone cards and greeting cards, while tobacconists obtain a profit margin of just 3 per cent from selling postage stamps, along with an allegedly meager compensation for offering basic postal services when a nearby post office closes.
Read MoreThe Governors of the US Postal Service today elected James C. Miller III of Virginia to be chairman and Alan C. Kessler of Pennsylvania to be vice chairman for 2005. Governor Miller, a former Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, was appointed a Governor in April 2003. He has broad government, private sector and academic experience and serves as Chairman of The CapAnalysis Group, an economic, financial and regulatory consulting firm associated with the international law firm Howrey Simon Arnold & White. Governor Kessler is a Philadelphia attorney and partner in the firm of Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen, LLP, with substantial experience in the defense of class-action litigation, including securities, antitrust, toxic tort and civil rights cases. He was appointed a Governor in November 2000 and serves as Chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee.
Read MorePoczta Polska, the state post operator, is to apply to the Treasury within the next few months to be commercialised, before it starts preparations for a stock market listing that could happen in 2006-2007, the company said last week. Poczta, which expects its sales to exceed ZL6 billion this year, is one of Poland’s largest employers with a headcount of over 100,000. This number, said deputy director general Czeslaw Kowalski, is to be reduced through outplacement and early retirement. Poczta also aims to cut its fixed costs by 10-15 percent this year, as well as introduce new products. It will reduce the delivery time for money transfers to same or next day depending on the type of service, against the current delivery time of two days. Poczta delivers some ZL30 billion annually in 250 million transfers. To regain position on the parcel delivery market, where Poczta has lost ground to private operators, the company will introduce a new product, a local parcel.
Read MoreGreece’s privatization committee has approved a listing of the Greek Postal Savings Bank on the Athens Stock Exchange, the Finance Ministry said late Monday. The committee didn’t specify the timing of the listing nor the size of the stake to be offered. Greece’s center-right New Democracy government, which won elections in March last year, is looking to raise EUR1.5 billion in 2005 from privatizations. The previous socialist government had already slated the Post Savings bank for privatization and had indicated it would sell up to 40% of shares in an initial offering.
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