- Revenue increase in 2017 driven by dynamic parcel growth
Revenue up 2.3 % to EUR 1,938.9m (excl. trans-o-flex)
Mail revenue decline (-2.1 %) more than offset by parcel growth (+17.7 %)
Expansion of service offering and logistics structures
Growth leads to higher market share in the parcel business
Extensive capacity increases and expansion of service offering planned
Earnings improvement based on good revenue development
EBIT increase of 2.7 % to EUR 207.8m
Increase in earnings per share to EUR 2.45 due to special effect
Outlook for 2018 and attractive dividend policy confirmed
Target of stable revenue and EBIT development also in 2018
Dividend proposal to the Annual General Meeting of EUR 2.05/share (+2.5 %)
The trends over previous quarterly periods continued in the fourth quarter. Traditional addressed letter mail volumes decreased in the year under review by about 5 %. That is why it is even more important to maintain the high quality standards and to continually develop the product offering – both physical and electronic - in line with customer requirements. Direct mail volumes rose by about 5 % during the reporting period, underlining the fact that flyers and interactive marketing remain indispensable components of the advertising mix of companies. The parcel business showed an even higher growth, with a rise of 20 % to 97m parcels on the back of the ongoing trend of online-shopping.
FURTHER EARNINGS IMPROVEMENT
The set goal to further increase earnings was also achieved. Group EBIT rose to EUR 207.8m (+2.7 % compared to EUR 202.3m in 2016). The Mail & Branch Network Division slightly improved earnings to EUR 289.6m in spite of declining revenue, whereas EBIT of the Parcel & Logistics Division at EUR 42.8m surpassed the prior-year results significantly. The intensification of logistics synergies between the mail and parcel businesses positively impacted earnings during the reported period. About 52 % of all parcels were delivered by letter mail logistics in 2017, and this share is expected to increase in the future. Profit for the period was up to EUR 165.0m in 2017 from EUR 152.7m in the previous year, including the positive effect in the other financial result from the sale of securities. This corresponds to earnings per share of EUR 2.45, up from EUR 2.26 in 2016.
HIGHER DIVIDENDS (+2.5 %) AND EMPLOYEE PROFIT SHARING (+2.6 %)
Based on the strong cash flow and solid balance sheet, the Management Board of Austrian Post will propose to the Annual General Meeting scheduled for April 19, 2018 to approve a dividend of EUR 2.05 per share (2016: EUR 2.00). This once again underlines Austrian Post’s positioning as a reliable and predictable company. Employees also benefit from this development. Austrian Post has offered its employees a voluntary profit-sharing scheme for 16 years. Employees entitled to participate will receive a bonus of EUR 875, up 2.6 % from the prior-year level.
STABLE OUTLOOK CONFIRMED FOR 2018
Austrian Post confirms its previously communicated outlook for the 2018 financial year expecting a stable revenue development. Stable operating earnings are also targeted, assuming a continuation of current basic mail and parcel trends. Against the backdrop of ongoing market growth for private customer parcels, measures are being taken to double sorting capacities over the next four years to more than 100,000 parcels/hour. For this reason, in addition to ongoing investments in the core business, also growth investments in the field of parcel logistics are planned. “Our objective is to expand existing sorting capacities as quickly as possible. We want to maintain our positioning as a reliable company in the future, and continue to keep the focus of our operations geared to quality and reliability”, concludes CEO Georg Pölzl.
The entire report is available at http://www.post.at/ir" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (Reporting).