Austrian Post: Parcel Logistics shows top performance in home market

Trend towards online shopping drives national parcel business of the Österreichische Post; challenging competitive situation in Germany

In 2014 and beyond the development of the parcel and logistics business of the Österreichische Post AG will be dominated by two trends: In the private customer parcel segment, the group anticipates growth of 3-6 per cent, depending on the region. The steadily growing field of e-commerce is the driving force behind this increase. The positive development of the business parcel segment depends on a stable economy and the competitive situation. It is crucial for the company to exploit its good strategic market position and the resulting revenue potential, especially in the international parcel business“, says CEO Georg Pölzl when presenting the 2013 annual report.

In the 2013 financial year the Parcel & Logistics Division was able to rise revenue, adjusted to take account of the disposed subsidiaries in the Benelux region, by 2 per cent to EUR 857.3 million. Premium Parcels (parcel delivery within 24 hours), which are mainly used in the business-to-business segment, generated revenue of EUR 643.7 million in 2013, having to accept a decrease of 1.1 per cent (excl. Benelux +1.3%) from the previous year. This decline is primarily due to the deconsolidation of the Benelux subsidiaries as well as the downward trend in Germany.

Disproportionately high growth was generated with business customer parcels as well as higher quality private customer parcels in Austria. The Standard Parcel business, which mainly involves shipments to private customers in Austria, also posted growth, with revenue up 2.2 per cent to EUR 181.7 million.

Revenue of EUR 32 million was achieved in the field of Other Parcel Services, which encompasses various complementary logistics services such as fulfilment, warehousing and value logistics. This represents an increase of 8.2 per cent.

From a regional perspective, 57 per cent of total revenue in the Parcel & Logistics Division was generated in Germany, 35 per cent in Austria and 8 per cent by the Austrian Post subsidiaries in South East and Eastern Europe. The Austrian and CEE markets developed very positively, whereas in Germany revenue achieved by the subsidiary trans-o-flex was down by 1.8 per cent due to the challenging competitive environment. At the same time, revenue growth in Austria reached a level of 7.8 per cent, driven by the trend towards online shopping as well as the higher market share in the business parcel segment. On balance, the South East and Eastern European subsidiaries posted revenue growth of 6.2 per cent.

Austrian Post showed a good performance in the 2013 financial year against the backdrop of a challenging business environment on the postal and logistics markets. Revenue increased by 0.8 per cent to EUR 2.37 billion in the reporting period, compared to the prior-year figure adjusted to take account of the Benelux subsidiaries divested by Austrian Post in 2012. The group’s operating profit featuring an EBIT of EUR 186 million was slightly higher than in the previous year.

Austrian Post has 24,211 full-time employees, and is the leading logistics and postal services provider in Austria. Its main business activities include the transport and delivery of letters, direct mail items, print media and parcels. Moreover, Austrian Post is also represented by subsidiaries in twelve European markets, particularly in the parcel and logistics segment as well as in unaddressed direct mail items. The Parcel and Logistics Division has teamed up with other leading transport companies in Europe to create EURODIS, providing combi-freight distribution services for parcels and pallets in 34 European countries.

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Quelle: LogEastics
Portal: www.logistik-express.com