La Poste, the French post office, reported 2016 revenues of €23,294m, an increase of 1.1% year-on-year (1.0% on a like-for-like basis, excluding the impact of any acquisitions or exchange rate fluctuations). Operating profit was €975m, up 11.5%.
Revenues in the Services-Mail-Parcels division were down by 0.9% (down 1.0% like-for-like). Operating profit for the division overall fell by 16.2% to €584m.
Services and Mail, which accounted for 80% of the division’s overall revenue, reported a 2.0% fall in revenues to €9,147m, reflecting lower letter volumes (-5.2%) coupled with an unfavourable product mix effect. This was partially offset by factors such as the price increase that took place on January 1, 2016 (+3.4% on average) and growth in international revenues (+€46m). The Parcels side of the division saw a 3.6% increase in revenue to €1,659m, driven by volume growth of 6.6%. These gains were partially offset by adverse price and customer mix effects.
GeoPost, the division which includes the DPD brand which operates in the B2B and B2C deferred and express parcels markets in France and across Europe, continued to grow impressively with revenues increasing by 8.6% (+9.3% like-for-like) to €6,166m. Volumes improved by 11.2% to 1,119m parcels, thanks to wider product and service offerings across Europe and further penetration into market segments such as temperature-controlled pharmaceutical and food transportation. The impact of price changes was to depress revenues by 0.9%. All countries registered growth.
GeoPost’s operating profit improved by 63.6% (78.0% like-for-like) to €438m thanks to “the combined effect of rising volumes and improved cost control.”
Looking ahead to 2017, La Poste stated that it is: “on track to carry out its ‘La Poste 2020: Conquering the Future’ strategic plan, defined in 2014, and intends to continue the in-depth transformation of its business model. Despite low interest rates and increasing digitisation, which is expected to continue, the Group anticipates slight growth in revenue and operating profit as well as a positive cash flow generation for 2017.”
Source: La Poste
