Tag: Europe

Polish Post to invest EUR 120m in new sorting centres

Posted by | Feb 27, 2007 | |

Poczta Polska, the Polish postal operator, is to build new sorting centres in four cities at a cost of PLN (Polish zlotych) 480 million (EUR 122.7 million), according to reports in the Polish media.

The centres, part of a programme to improve infrastructure and the quality of services, are to be constructed in Wroclaw, Katowice, Gdansk and Bydgoszcz, said the Polish News Bulletin. Each of them is to cost PLN 120 million (EUR 30.68 million), the newspaper says.

The post, which recently lost one of its biggest customers, TP (Polish Telecom), to emerging rival Krakow-based InPost and suffered a wave of industrial action, nevertheless recorded a profit of PLN 300 million (EUR 76.7 million) in 2006 on 7% year-on-year revenue growth.

It awarded over 100,000 postal workers pay rises worth a total PLN 60 million (EUR 15.34 million) to resolve a dispute that threatened to blow up into a full-out nationwide strike.

Polish Post’s director general, Zbigniew Niezgoda, is quoted as saying liberalisation of the below-50g, PLN 2.5 billion (EUR 638 million) mail market by 2009 – desired by the European Commission – “should not be a problem”.

Privatisation of Poczta Polska is not expected to take place before 2011, the newspaper reports.

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Spain's MRW grows revenues 9%

Posted by | Feb 27, 2007 | |

Spanish express company MRW said its revenues grew to EUR 564 million in 2006, over 9% higher than the EUR 517 million it posted in 2005.

MRW also announced it has continued its network expansion by opening a new branch in Seville.

The new outlet, in Bollulos de la Mitación, is the 32nd MRW has opened in Spain since the beginning of last year – at a rate of over one a fortnight – taking its total number of franchises in Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra to 768.

MRW now has 34 in Seville province, 12 of them in the city. Earlier this month, it announced new branches in Murcia and Toledo. It also has 39 logistics distribution platforms totalling around 90,000 sqm, 10,500 staff, 5,000 vehicles and three aircraft.

The company is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and has used the occasion to upgrade its corporate image.

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TNT set to put orange-clad postmen on streets

Posted by | Feb 27, 2007 | |

TNT is ready to roll out a door-to-door letter delivery system in cities across the UK, bringing staff in an orange uniform shoulder to shoulder with postmen and women dressed in the familiar blue and red.

TNT of the Netherlands said it would take a final decision over the next couple of months when it had gained final data from its trials in Glasgow and Manchester but was now “hopeful” that it would proceed with its plans for the biggest ever challenge to Royal Mail’s position.

Reporting an 11.3% increase in worldwide operating profits and earnings before tax and interest of EUR355m (GBP238m), TNT chief executive Peter Bakker said Britain was a key market showing healthy growth and the company was now distributing more than 1bn pieces of mail a year here. Royal Mail customers to have switched to TNT include BT, which recently signed a contract worth up to GBP90m.

Items handled by TNT – apart from those involved in the trials – are collected before being handed over to the Royal Mail for the “last mile” delivery. But that will change when TNT starts offering a complete next-day service in many locations.

TNT wants to roll out its door-to-door operation to large cities in Britain but is unlikely to offer next-day delivery to more remote rural areas, critics argue. But the Dutch company said yesterday that private companies were also working at a disadvantage, particularly from having to add VAT to services, unlike Royal Mail. The European commission is looking at this issue in Britain, Germany and Sweden.

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Western Union extends its relationship with La Banque Postale

Posted by | Feb 27, 2007 | |

The Western Union Company announced that it has renewed its relationship with La Banque Postale. The new agreement will enable Western Union to pursue a successful business strategy as it continues to create rich opportunities by strengthening the Western Union brand and its relationships with Agents.
With approximately 29 million customers, La Banque Postale operates one of France’s largest financial services networks. They have a bank license that allows them to offer a wide range of financial services. In October 2006, Western Union and La Banque Postale celebrated 10 years of working together. The agreement with La Banque Postale promises to increase Western Union’s reach throughout France. Presently, Western Union and its agents operate more than 3,000 locations across France, and customers carry out millions of Western Union Money Transfers annually with La Banque Postale.
Both organizations also manage a successful joint venture “La Societe Financiere de Paiements” (SFdP) which, along with its correspondents, manages a network of 46 branches located in France’s major cities. This joint venture was created in 2003 to complement the Western Union service offering within La Banque Postale and endeavor to meet the wide-ranging needs of customers — primarily immigrants who have left home to seek a better life in France and who continue to send money home to the families they have left behind. These remittances provide support for everyday necessities like education, food and health.

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