DHL reports growth in all divisions
First-quarter EBIT was up 22.9% to €629 million, with a consolidated net profit of €325 million.
According to CEO Frank Appel, this positive performance was driven by the strong growth generated in all three DHL divisions, supported by the continued economic recovery and rising transport volumes.
The DHL divisions contributed €363 million to the overall group result, representing an increase of almost two-thirds compared with the prior year (2010: €219m).
Apart from operational improvements achieved by the company, the absence of any restructuring expenses (€54m last year) also had a positive impact on the development of Deutsche Post DHL’s operating result.
The group’s net financial income dropped in the first quarter from €1.3 billion in 2010 to a loss of €161 million in 2011. This was almost exclusively related to the sale of Postbank, with the expenses incurred in Q1 2011. However, adjusted for the Postbank valuation effects for both years, consolidated net profit for Q1 would have risen by more than 27%.
Q1 revenue for the Mail division was unchanged at €3.5 billion. Even though volumes stabilised, traditional mail revenues continued to fall due to the discounts that the Group is offering following the imposition of the VAT last July, although this was offset by continued growth in the parcel business.
Revenue in the Internet retailing segment was up almost 9% to more than €700 million, which means that the parcel business now generates 20% of the Mail division’s total revenue.
Q1 EBIT was down slightly to €373 million (Q1 2010: €389m), due largely to the effect of the VAT and expenses associated with the expansion of the divison’s digital business.
Express
Revenues for the Express division were up 5.5% €2.8 billion (Q1 2010: €2.6bn), which was largely the result of higher volumes of international shipments as well as higher revenues from fuel surcharges. This more than offset the sale of the domestic express business in the UK and France. The Express business performed well in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions, with double-digit revenue growth.
The division’s EBIT almost doubled in the first quarter to €216 million (Q1 2010: €110m), due not only to revenue and volume growth but also to continued strict cost management and successfully completed restructuring measures, which caused expenses of €44 million in Q1 last year.
Global Forwarding, Freight
Q1 revenues for the Global Forwarding, Freight division, were up 14.9% to €3.6 billion (Q1 2010: €3.1bn), reflecting double-digit revenue increases in the air and ocean freight as well as the European overland transport segment.
Despite rising fuel costs, the division profited at the beginning of the year from lower freight rates and improved buying conditions, which stabilised margins.
Accordingly, the divisional EBIT was up 30.2% to €69 million (Q1 2010: €53m – which included restructuring charges of €1m).
Supply Chain
Q1 revenues for the Supply Chain division were up 7.5% to €3.3 billion (Q1 2010: €3bn), with the retail and life sciences & healthcare sectors generating almost half of the division’s revenue. The highest regional revenue gains were produced, once again, in the Asia-Pacific region.
At €320 million, the volume of newly concluded contracts was one-third higher than during Q1 2010, and profit margins of the new contracts reflect a significant improvement compared with the previous year.
Due to the profitability gains, strict cost management and higher business volume, Q1 EBIT was up 39.3% to €78 million (Q1 2010: €56m – which included restructuring charges of €7m).
Outlook
Despite the current economic risks, the Group expects that the global economy will continue to recover this year, likely triggering a measureable rise in global trade volume.
Deutsche Post DHL continues to project an EBIT of between €2.2 billion and €2.4 billion for the year, of which between €1 billion and €1.1 billion is expected to be contributed by the Mail division.
The company also forecasts double-digit increase in the operating profit of DHL to between €1.6 billion and €1.7 billion.
Quelle: eyefortransport
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