Tag: TNT

Dutch Coalition reaches postal law compromise

Posted by | May 25, 2007 | |

The Dutch centrist coalition has reached a compromise on minimum employment standards for postal workers, clearing the way for a new postal law to pass, a senior lawmaker said on Friday.

Dutch mail company TNT NV’s monopoly on letters up to 50 grams — around half of the 2 billion euro Dutch postal market — will end from the start of next year under the new postal law.

Politicians had all but wrapped up the discussion of the new postal law, Labor member of parliament Ferd Crone, the party’s spokesman on postal liberalisation, told Reuters.

“We’re almost done,” he said, adding one of the few points still under discussion was giving competitors limited access to TNT’s network.

Crone confirmed Dutch media reports that a compromise had been reached on the most contentious question between coalition partners Labor and the Christian Democrats.

Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad said the parties had agreed not to write minimum employment standards into the new postal law as the Labor party had demanded, but give the government the option to enforce them later.

The goal was to prompt TNT’s competitors, privately held Sandd and Deutsche Post’s Selekt Mail, to negotiate with trade unions and agree a collective labor contract by the autumn, the paper said.

Analysts have said a rule regarding minimum employment standards would probably mostly affect TNT’s competitors and could thus be positive for TNT.

The Labor party had argued that workers in the postal sector needed to be protected, as TNT’s rivals, as well as TNT unit Netwerk VSP, employ few permanent staff and pay carriers by the number of items delivered.

TNT’s mail business is one of the biggest Dutch employers, with about 59,000 people.

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TNT cleared to challenge Royal Mail's VAT exemption

Posted by | May 25, 2007 | |

Royal Mail’s VAT exemption could be challenged by rival TNT Post after a development in the High Court this month.

The High Court has granted TNT Post permission to apply for a judicial review of the exemption and is expected to rule soon that the European Court of Justice carry out the review.

All postal services provided by Royal Mail are VAT exempt, but services provided by all other operators are not.

TNT claims this distorts the postal market. It is a particular disadvantage in the case of business with banks and charities, which cannot recover VAT charges because they themselves are VAT exempt.

Nick Wells, chief executive of TNT Post, said: “The VAT distortion is subject to possible infringement proceedings by the European Commission. TNT Post is committed to providing its customers with an efficient and value-for-money service and will continue to fight for a level competitive playing field.”

If the European Court of Justice carries out a review it is not expected to finish until the summer of 2009.

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TNT to delist from New York Stock Exchange

Posted by | May 25, 2007 | |

TNT announced that its Board of Management, approved by its Supervisory Board, has decided to apply for deregistration of the company and termination of its reporting obligations under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and the delisting of its American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) from the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”)

TNT intends to file a Form 15F with the SEC to deregister and terminate its reporting obligations under the Exchange Act as soon as practicable following June 4, 2007, the date when the revised SEC rules on deregistration become effective. By operation of law, the deregistration will be effective 90 days after the filing, unless the Form 15F is earlier withdrawn. TNT reserves the right to delay the filing of the Form 15F or withdraw the Form 15F for any reason prior to its effectiveness.

TNT intends to file a Form 25 with the SEC to effect the delisting as soon as practicable following June 4, 2007.

The company intends to maintain its American Depositary Receipt facility as a Level I programme. This means that TNT’s ADRs will be traded on the over-the-counter market. TNT’s ordinary shares will continue to be traded on Euronext Amsterdam.

TNT will continue to publish its Annual Report, Accounts and communications in accordance with the Exchange Act on its website http://group.tnt.com.

TNT’s Board of Management has established that the benefits of U.S. registration and a NYSE listing for TNT have declined over time. TNT’s ADR programme is small and the majority of shares in TNT held by U.S. domiciled investors are acquired through Euronext Amsterdam. The average ADR trading business volume is less than five percent of the total volume in the recent twelve month period. TNT furthermore has limited business presence in the U.S. after the recent sale of its logistics and freight management activities.

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TNT delivers hope for children in Africa

Posted by | May 24, 2007 | |

Employees at TNT have delivered a cash boost to feed and educate 1200 malnourished children in Tanzania for a year.

Entitled ‘Fight Hunger Week,’ the initiative saw thousands of TNT employees in the UK hold a fun-packed range of activities to raise more than GBP 30,000 for the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP).

The money raised by TNT will be channelled into the WFP’s School Feeding Programme whereby children in developing countries are encouraged to attend school and receive a free nourishing meal. All the donations from TNT Express Services in the UK & Ireland will go to provide much-needed nutrition and education for youngsters in Tanzania.

Stuart Stobie, Divisional Managing Director, TNT Express Services UK said: “It costs just 7p per day to feed and educate a child in Tanzania or GBP 25 a year. The initiative is part of an ongoing partnership that has already seen TNT in the UK generate more than GBP 260,000 to support the excellent work undertaken by the WFP.”

More than 50 TNT Express Services depots and offices combined their efforts as part of the specially designated week with a bewildering array of fund-raising activities from fancy dress days, chest waxings, depot beauty salons, health checks, running and rowing challenges, cake baking, noodle-eating, managers in stocks, auctions, raffles and car valeting, to name but a few.

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How not to let culture issues defeat mergers

Posted by | May 23, 2007 | |

Eight months after acquiring the semi-express carrier Speedage, mail company TNT India is still integrating the two entities.

It was in September 2006 that global express logistics major TNT, one of the world’s leading business to business express delivery companies, acquired the Indian semi-express carrier, Speedage.

This acquisition added 514 depots, 26 transit hubs, 730 vehicles and 1,195 employees (and about 1,300 sub-contracted staff) to TNT’s existing resources. The current staff strength of TNT in India is 2,500 people.

Eight months later, Abhik Mitra, managing director of TNT India, feels that they have reached a comfortable position as far as transformation and integration issues are concerned. At the time of the takeover the TNT management was clear that it would not implement its own processes from the very next day.

The real work, adds Mitra, started once the deal was sealed. Speedage and all its 1,300 employees were put through to a phased transformation and integration process.

The first few months were all about communication and sharing. The TNT culture and values programme was shared with the Speedage employees, as were the short-term goals of the merger and the long-term ambitions from it.

The second and third months were dedicated to making the changes within the organisation and sharing the TNT value system with them. Then began the cultural training, continuing until the fifth month.

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