Tag: Germany

GLS France: strong growth in export volumes

Posted by | Jan 7, 2008 | |

GLS France recorded a 25 pct growth in export shipments sent to Europe last year further strengthening its cross-border structures and enhancing European interchange.

From Paris and regions bordering on Germany, export volumes rose by 46 pct compared to previous year, the parcels firm said in a statement. It did not release any total figures for volumes or revenues.

GLS said the export parcels are mainly destined for countries bordering on France like Germany, Belgium and Italy. The majority of parcels are exported to Germany (23 pct), Belgium (20 pct), Italy (1 pct), UK (13 pct) and Spain (11 pct).

GLS France said it expected this growth to continue and would continue to optimise its tools and processes to boost this development. For example, in April 2007 it established a direct connection ensuring 24-hour delivery from Paris to Belgium.

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Hermes Logistik eyes acquisition in Spain

Posted by | Jan 4, 2008 | |

Hermes Logistik is considering an acquisition in Spain and potentially elsewhere to strengthen its European B2C network, according to the company’s management.

Managing director Hanjo Schneider told the Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung (DVZ) that in Spain the Otto Group subsidiary was seeking “a solution in the next 12 – 18 months”. The Spanish B2C market is currently at an early stage of development, according to experts.

Hermes currently covers five countries, representing about 85 pct of the European B2C market, through its own network, Schneider said. The UK and France are served by Otto Group subsidiaries Parcelnet and Mondial Relay, while Hermes started operations in Austria in summer 2007.

In Italy, Hermes bought a 30 pct holding in Porta a Porta, which is majority-owned by Swiss Post, in October 2007. The Swiss postal group, however, might be prepared to split off the Italian company’s parcels distribution business, and sell it to Hermes completely, whilst retaining the mail and logistics activities, the DVZ reported.

Hermes currently uses partners to deliver to other European destinations. TNT covers the Benelux area, Swiss Post covers Switzerland, and DPD is used for all other markets.

French sister company Mondial Relay last year announced plans to expand into Belgium, Spain and Portugal, while British operator Parcelnet grew with the acquisition of the Redcats courier network last spring.

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Deutsche Post expects sales decline in US express operations

Posted by | Jan 3, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post World Net AG is increasingly facing the impact of the US subprime crisis on the US economy in its express operations, Chief Executive Klaus Zumwinkel told Capital magazine in an interview to be published tomorrow.

He said he sees sales declining by a one-digit percentage, to which Deutsche Post will react by cutting costs and capacities.

Deutsche Post in November said it no longer expects to return to profitability in its US express operations by the end of 2009, as previously expected, but did not give a new date. It has posted unspecified losses since it entered the US express market in 2004.

Separately, Zumwinkel reiterated the German mail services company could sell off its banking unit Deutsche Postbank AG. ‘During the current year, we will consider how to proceed with Postbank,’ he said.

He said he preferred a German buyer for the bank.

‘Postbank is perfectly suited as an inexpensive and efficient platform on which the German capital market can advance,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Postbank could face further losses due to the US subprime woes, if the crisis spills over to other investment types such as equities, Zumwinkel said.

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PostEurop call Council of the European Union to resume negotiations on VAT legislation for postal services

Posted by | Dec 27, 2007 | |

The postal industry needs a reliable VAT legislation. The 6th VAT Directive no longer provides for legal certainty as demonstrated by the infringement procedures most recently launched by the European Commission. Moreover, taking into account the changes that the industry has undergone in the past 10 years, modernizing VAT regulations seems reasonable.
On May 5th 2003, the European Commission issued a “proposal for a directive amending directive 77/388/EEC as regards VAT on services provided in the postal sector” (COM/2003/234).
It provides for equal treatment of postal services in term of taxation. It also introduces an option to apply reduced VAT rates for certain postal services with the intention to limit any increase in postal prices due to the introduction of VAT.
On March 11th 2004, the European Parliament agreed to the introduction of VAT in public postal services. The European Parliament has proposed to make the application of a reduced rate mandatory.
The deliberations (2 July 2003 to 15 June 2004) within the Council failed in the absence of the required unanimity and negotiations have been suspended for about 3 years now.
On 23rd March 2006, the European Commission launched infringement proceedings by sending letters of formal notice to the UK, Sweden and Germany on the VAT application of postal services.
The rules governing the application of VAT should not be left to finally decisions by the ECJ based on an interpretation of the 6th VAT Directive (dating back to 1977). The decision how to apply VAT on postal services is essentially a political one and therefore needs to be agreed upon by the Council.

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Deutsche Post CFO says minimum wage to have 'no immediate effect' on costs

Posted by | Dec 21, 2007 | |

Deutsche Post World Net AG’s Chief Financial Officer John Allan said a minimum wage for postal workers recently approved by Germany’s government will have ‘no immediate effect’ on the company’s cost structure.

‘We pay at least this wage level throughout the German mail services business,’ he told a company newsletter in an interview.

The upper house of Germany’s parliament yesterday approved the introduction of a minimum wage at 8.00-9.80 eur per hour for postal workers. The minimum wage is expected to hurt primarily Deutsche Post’s smaller competitors.

And commenting on government plans to liberalize the letter mail market next year, Allan affirmed Deutsche Post’s previous statements that liberalization could lower earnings before interest and taxes by 10-20 pct.

Allan also brushed off concern that a possible abolition of Deutsche Post’s exemption from German value-added tax could hurt results.

‘There is no reason for us to speculate about any consequences as there’s no evidence whatsoever that we would lose the exemption,’ he said.

Under current rules, Deutsche Post’s basic postal services are exempt from the 19 pct VAT while comparable services provided by rivals are not, even after Deutsche Post’s monopoly on delivering letters expires at the end of the year.

Deutsche Post obtained the exemption in exchange for the guarantee that it will deliver mail to every household in Germany.

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