Tag: Courier/Express/Parcels

Deutsche Post World Net’s (DPWN) senior managers have been energetically defending the strategic direction of their company, after the publication of their nine-monthly results last week which saw revenue rise by 5.3pct and EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Tax) after exceptional items fall by 2.5pct.

In particular, the new chief financial officer, John Allan, has been thrust forward to help articulate the new ‘capital markets programme’. Entitled a “Road Map to Value” this is designed to underline DPWN’s commitment to better returns to shareholders. It also emphasises what is an important change in direction for DPWN’s corporate strategy. DPWN’s CEO Klaus Zumwinkel articulated this as “following an expansion phase to build the leading logistics company worldwide, we’re now entering a new era…… We are implementing a series of long-term measures in order to raise profitability, generate more cash, increase payouts to shareholders and improve transparency.”

For a company as acquisitive as DPWN this is an interesting statement, indicating that the strategy of global expansion is being reigned-back, although targeted acquisitions are still being made.

Underlying DPWN’s concern is disenchantment amongst institutional investors outside Germany over the performance of the company’s shares. This is leading to mutterings on stock markets about the merits of a break-up of DPWN, particularly through a buy-out from a private equity house.

From the remarks emerging from Bonn, it does appear that DPWN is feeling the capital markets breathing down its neck. For example, John Allan commented that he didn’t think a private equity bid was a big risk “but I think one can never be complacent and the best way of stopping it even being a small risk and protect the future of our company, the jobs of our employees and so on, is really going to be to carry through very aggressively the programme we have announced today, which should make our shareholders happy”.