Tag: Germany

Deutsche Post World Net reports double-digit growth in first half

Posted by | Jul 31, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post World Net reported double-digit growth in its underlying EBIT for the first half, despite challenging economic conditions. Underlying EBIT, or earnings before interest and taxes excluding non-recurring effects, gained 12 percent to 1.9 billion euros.

Reported EBIT declined by 11 percent to 1.5 billion euros due to one-time charges at the Group’s Financial Services division and costs to restructure its DHL U.S. Express business. Revenue gained 3.4 percent, with growth being held back by negative currency effects. Excluding those effects, revenue grew
7.8 percent.

Deutsche Post has been able to maintain its position following the full opening of the German letter mail market on Jan. 1, 2008 with the impact of a worsening economic environment remaining limited. Total volumes in its Mail Communications unit increased by 3.2 percent in the second quarter, with the number of customer contact points being raised further.

Revenue in the Mail division rose 1.6 percent to 3.4 billion euros in the quarter. EBIT gained 1.9 percent to 321 million euros in spite of the new market environment and higher costs.

In the Express division the leading position in most markets outside the U.S. was maintained, helped by strong growth in its cross-border Day Definite and Domestic businesses. The division also benefited from its strong presence in fast-growing regions such as Asia/Pacific and Eastern Europe/Middle East/Africa (EEMEA). Accordingly, Asia/Pacific recorded organic revenue growth – excluding currency effects and other non-operative items – of 13 percent.

In the EEMEA region, organic revenue rose 26 percent, helped by higher fuel surcharges and strong performance of almost all products. In the Express Americas division, organic revenue increased 4.2 percent, due to increased demand for Day Definite products in Latin America, Canada and the Carribbean.

Measures to restructure the Group’s DHL Express U.S. business are on track, despite deteriorating market conditions and the weakening economic environment in the U.S. Deutsche Post World Net in May presented a plan to restructure DHL Express U.S. to cut losses by 1 billion dollars in 2011. By that time, the Group expects the contribution to the global network to exceed the losses incurred by the business. Negotiations about a planned air lift agreement with United Parcel Service (UPS) are making progress.

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Deutsche Post & Deutsche Bahn to bid for 800m euro German army contract

Posted by | Jul 31, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post World Net AG. and Deutsche Bahn AG. separately plan to submit bids for a major logistics contract to be tendered by the Germany army this summer, Handelsblatt reported, citing spokesmen for both companies.

The newspaper also said Kuehne & Nagel and Hellmann Logistics may be interested in the contract, without saying where it got the information.

Industry experts estimate the contract may have a volume of about 800 million euros, it said.

The German army, called the Bundeswehr, plans to tender basic logistics including warehousing of medical equipment and supplies, but not ammunition, the newspaper said, citing a spokesman for Bundeswehr advisor GEBB.

The contract will also comprise transport of materials, ammunition, medical equipment and supplies, domestically and abroad, though not the transport of soldiers.

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Postbank remains on track in first half-year

Posted by | Jul 30, 2008 | |

In the first half-year of 2008, Deutsche Postbank AG asserted its position well in an environment characterized by the capital market crisis and an inverse yield curve. In key product categories, new business was expanded and market gains achieved. There was a positive trend in operating results while charges on the income statement resulting from the trend on capital markets were again relatively moderate.

In comparison to the first half-year of 2007 – the last before the capital market crisis started – Postbank improved its core operating figures – net interest income and net fee and commission income. Due to market turbulence, net trading income and net income from investment securities declined. As a result of enhanced efficiency and rigorous cost control, administrative expenses moved down considerably. Allowances for losses on loans and advances was appreciably below the level of the previous year.

In the first six months of 2008, profit before tax fell by 26.1pct to EUR337 million. Adjusted for the impact of the financial market crisis, the result increased by 43.4pct to EUR654 million. Return on equity before tax declined to 13.9pct (previous year: 17.5pct). The cost-income ratio of the whole bank increased to 73.7pct (68.7pct ), while in the classical banking business (without Transaction Banking) this figure rose to 71.8pct (66.6pct ). Adjusted for the financial impact of the market jitters, there was a year-on-year improvement of profit before tax, return on equity and the cost-income ratio in the first six months.

In view of the positive development of the operating business after the first half year of 2008, Postbank sees itself as well on track for achieving an operating result before tax (without positive and negative non-recurring effects) of between EUR1.1 billion and EUR1.2 billion for the current fiscal year. This guidance is given despite the inverse yield curve and high volatility on capital markets.

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General debate sets tone for UPU Congress

Posted by | Jul 25, 2008 | |

Decision-makers from the international community today participated in a high-level general debate during the 24th Universal Postal Congress. Themed “The postal sector, an essential component of the global economy”, the debate gathered stakeholders from the larger postal sector.

The World Trade Organization stressed the crucial role infrastructures such as postal services play in international trade. For the International Monetary Fund, the postal sector has a considerable impact on the reduction of trade costs. For its part, the World Bank noted the importance of money transfer services for migrants, adding that postal operators were in a unique position to offer such services so essential to development. The Russian Post said postal networks could work with banks to offer additional services and increase their revenues.

eBay International noted the role of postal services in the distribution of millions of items bought online annually. However, many online shoppers still hesitate to order goods from abroad. Only 20 pct of goods purchased on eBay sites cross borders. Citing high shipment costs and a need for improved quality of service, eBay urged postal operators to find solutions to these issues.

The Tunisian Post showed how the Government has made postal services part of a national policy to promote the information society by using the Post as a trusted intermediary in the electronic world and as a facilitator of e-commerce. On a regional level, the African Union expressed its desire to integrate postal services in its regional infrastructure development plan, as it does with water, electricity, telecommunications and transportation.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) finally invited the postal sector to take part in a worldwide awareness campaign on environment challenges. Thanks to an agreement signed in April between the UPU and UNEP, postal operators will work together on greening the postal sector.

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Postal Operators – Fuel prices hitting profits

Posted by | Jul 24, 2008 | |

Higher fuel prices are having an impact on operating profit for all postal operators, and with many European countries already investing in alternative fuel sources, the U.S. Postal Service is now looking for ways to reduce it’s annual fuel bill, expected to increase by USD 600m this year.

The U.S. Postal Service has around 195,000 local delivery trucks and is already testing alternative transport powered by hydrogen, ethanol, lpg, and electricity.

French postal operator La Poste has a long-term plan to replace as much of its fleet as possible with electrically powered cars and is already using the battery-powered CleaNova, produced by Société de Véhicules Electriques (SVE), a joint venture between Dassault and Heuliez. Italian postal operator, Poste Italiane, has continued to replace many of its vehicles with gas-powered versions and has carried out several trials on alternative fuel vehicles, with special interest on serial-hybrid vans.

Royal mail aims to reduce its fleet fossil fuel usage by 14 pct by 2010 and has already bought Smith Edison and Newton higher function delivery vehicles which have a top speed of up to 50mph and can cover up to 150 miles on one battery charge. Royal Mail recently launched a company wide awareness programme to help its 180,000 people switch to greener driving, whether for social or work driving. And almost 1,000 Royal Mail drivers have received in-depth classroom training to help them adopt more environmentally-friendly motoring practices with plans to train a further 2,000 in the coming months.

With petrol and diesel prices expected to stay high this year, alternative fuels are likely to play a greater part in the selection of replacement vehicles for most postal operators.

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