Operating profits decline at La Poste


Operating profits at La Groupe La Poste fell by 65% year on year to €1.2 billion in the 12 months to 31st December 2022. The fall in profits was despite a growth in revenues of 2.3% to €35.4bn. A variety of factors hit the postal and banking organisation, led in part by the war in Ukraine and the a hike in energy costs, inflation and interest rates.

Philippe Wahl, Chair of the Board of Directors said, “As in 2021, parcels and express deliveries accounted for more than half of La Poste Groupe’s operating revenue. Mail volumes continued to decline.” Mail volumes fell 8% in the calendar year.  The Service-Mail-Parcels segment saw revenues drop by 4% to €10.2bn in the year.

Additionally, the company saw Colissimo retail volumes drop by 10% and GeoPost volumes down 1%. Despite the drop in volumes, GeoPost/DPDgroup saw revenues grow by 5.5% to €15.5bn.

The logistics and banking organisation made some major acquisitions in 2022, including GeoPost/DPDgroup’s 100% buyout of UK same day delivery company CitySprint. At the time of the acquisition, DPD UK CEO Elaine Kerr said, “Same day delivery is one of the fastest growing segments of the logistics market and this deal will enable us to provide our customers with fantastic new services.” This could well improve the long term revenues of the La Poste segment. In another acquisition just last week, DPD UK announced the acquisition of final mile courier company, Absolutely, adding to its last mile credentials.

Further impacting the overall bottom line, Wahl said, “During the year, La Poste decided to invest €800 million through to 2025 to modernise its omnichannel distribution network, expand its geographic footprint and accelerate its digital transformation.”

Looking to the future, La Groupe La Poste is continuing its commitments toward carbon neutrality, and is to double the size of its global electric vehicle fleet by 2025 in a programme costing €600 million. Earlier this year the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) confirmed GeoPost’s decarbonisation plan. Wahl said of this, “As the first carbon-neutral postal operator, La Poste Groupe has confirmed its commitment to the fight against climate change.”

With the macroeconomic environment stabilising, the drop in operating profits may just be a blip. As ever it remains to be seen what world events may hit consumer confidence further in the coming year.

Source: La Poste


 

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