Deutsche Post DHL expects to hit its financial targets for the year despite a fall in earnings in the third quarter.
“We will reach our target for the year,” said CEO Frank Appel. “To achieve both this short-term goal and our mid-term goals it will be critical to intensively focus on efforts to meet the needs of our customers and to further improve efficiency.”
[asset_ref id=”807″] Frank Appel
The group reported a third quarter fall in EBIT of 6.5 per cent to €604m, despite a rise in earnings at DHL.
Earnings in the Mail division were down, hit by the bankruptcy of the Neckermann mail-order company. Even so, the group’s consolidated net profit of €382m was the same as last year owing to a lower tax bill.
The Supply Chain division pushed EBIT up nine per cent, to €109m in 2012. The group said this improvement in profitability primarily resulted from optimised contract management, continued strict cost controls and the division’s increased operating efficiency. Sales were up ten per cent to €3.7bn.
The Express division saw a 6.9 per cent rise in EBIT to €231m on sales up nine per cent to €3.2bn.
The Global Forwarding, Freight division – mainly driven by favourable exchange-rate effects – boosted its third-quarter revenues 5.6 per cent, to €4bn. But a tough trading environment meant that EBIT, at €122m was 1.6 per cent down on the third quarter of 2011.
Mail division EBIT fell from €302m in 2011 to €247m this year, while sales at €3.3bn were 1.9 per cent down on 2011.
The group expects to generate an EBIT of €2.6bn to €2.7bn in 2012 with operating profits at DHL rising to about €2bn. In the Mail division, earnings should total €1.0bn to €1.1bn.
“The strength of our business model keeps us on track in a difficult economic environment: With our strong market position in the international express and the German parcel business still paying off, we have delivered a solid set of results in the third quarter”, said Appel. “At the same time it is clear that we cannot afford to rest on our laurels given the volatile economic environment.”
