July-September 2015
January-September 2015
7-9 | 7-9 | 1-9 | 1-9 | 1-12 | |
2015 | 2014 | 2015 | 2014 | 2014 | |
Net sales, EUR million | 373.5 | 435.1 | 1,215.6 | 1,367.0 | 1,858.7 |
Operating result (non-IFRS), EUR million* | 9.6 | 6.8 | 23.3 | 27.3 | 50.8 |
Operating result (non-IFRS), %* | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.7 |
Operating result (EBIT), EUR million | -2.2 | -7.4 | 46.2 | -5.1 | 5.8 |
Operating result (EBIT), % | -0.6 | -1.7 | 3.8 | -0.4 | 0.3 |
Result before taxes, EUR million | -7.0 | -10.1 | 37.2 | -12.2 | -4.6 |
Result for the period, EUR million | -1.1 | -9.1 | 31.7 | -8.9 | -4.4 |
Return on equity (12 months), % | 5.9 | 1.4 | -0.7 | ||
Return on invested capital (12 months), % | 6.3 | 1.3 | 1.0 | ||
Equity ratio, % | 48.8 | 47.2 | 45.9 | ||
Gearing, % | 8.1 | 19.9 | 17.2 | ||
Gross capital expenditure, EUR million | 11.8 | 12.0 | 43.7 | 42.9 | 57.5 |
Average number of employees | 22,482 | 25,132 | 24,617 | ||
*) Non-IFRS = excluding non-recurring items |
Heikki Malinen, President and CEO:
"Posti Group Corporation's operating result in July-September improved to EUR 9.6 million from EUR 6.8 million in the corresponding period last year. The improved result is a fairly good achievement under the circumstances, as the Group's net sales continued to decline and the market situation remained very difficult.
The most significant factor behind the better result is the improved result of the Parcel and Logistics Services business group. The operating result before non-recurring items returned to profitable territory in July-September and through the first three quarters of the year in spite of the decline in net sales. This gives us confidence that we are moving in the right direction.
We have made determined efforts in the logistics business to improve the efficiency of our loss-making operations. As part of these efficiency improvement measures, the Group has divested its international freight business and scaled back its network of terminals in Finland. The business group's result was also affected favorably by the increased demand for parcel services.
With regard to logistics, we can now say that all of the major restructuring measures have been completed. Logistics will remain a core business for Posti, and one of the objectives of our new strategy is to seek synergies and new growth in local logistics, food logistics and warehouse logistics services.
We are continuing to implement efficiency improvement measures throughout the Group under the EUR 75 million program that is currently underway. Efficiency improvement measures are necessary for compensating for the decline in net sales. In postal services, the operating result showed a seasonal decline in July-September. Cost adaptation measures have not been sufficient to compensate for the loss of net sales resulting from the decline in volume.
As competition in the postal services market increases and new players enter the industry, we must maintain Posti's competitiveness and cost-effectiveness as a service provider. Our current collective agreement is too inflexible to respond to the new needs that today's customers expect us to satisfy with regard to the services we provide. The new collective agreement must facilitate greater flexibility in shift planning to allow us to better react to changes in customer demand, avoid delivery disruptions, and develop new service business.
In spite of the entry of new delivery service providers in the postal industry, our greatest challenge remains the trend of digitization, which will move letters, invoices and publications to the online realm at a tremendous rate in the coming years. The new strategy we announced in the summer is Posti's roadmap for operating in a digital Finland. Rather than simply adapting to these changes, Posti aims to actively take advantage of digitization in its services, production operations and operating methods."
APPENDICES
Posti Group's Interim Report in full
FURTHER INFORMATION
Heikki Malinen, President and CEO, and Sari Helander, CFO
Tel. +358 20 452 3366 (MediaDesk)
DISTRIBUTION
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
Key media
www.posti.com/financials
FINANCIAL CALENDAR IN 2016
Financial statements for 2015: February 12, 2016
January-March: April 29, 2016
January-June: July 18, 2016
January-September: October 31, 2016
IMAGES AND LOGOS
www.posti.com/media
Posti Group is your first choice in postal, logistics and e-commerce services. We manage the flow of commerce and everyday life in 10 countries. Our net sales in 2014 amounted to EUR 1,859 million. We employ approximately 23,000 professionals who serve our customers in Finland under the name Posti and in other countries under the name Itella. All our services in Finland are carbon neutral.www.posti.com.