ITELLA CORPORATION’S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS RELEASE, FEBRUARY 14, 2014 AT 10 A.M. (EET)
Itella Corporation's Financial Statements and Board of Directors' Report for 2013
October-December 2013
Year 2013
|
Key figures for the Itella Group |
|
|
|
|
|
|
10-12 |
10-12 |
1-12 |
1-12 |
|
Net sales, EUR million |
528.8 |
542.6 |
1,976.8 |
1,946.7 |
|
Operating result (non-IFRS), EUR million* |
26.3 |
12.8 |
50.5 |
53.2 |
|
Operating result (non-IFRS), %* |
5.0 |
2.4 |
2.6 |
2.7 |
|
Operating result (EBIT), EUR million |
12.3 |
9.1 |
9.9 |
39.0 |
|
Operating result (EBIT), % |
2.3 |
1.7 |
0.5 |
2.0 |
|
Result before taxes, EUR million |
9.6 |
6.9 |
-2.4 |
30.8 |
|
Result for the period, EUR million |
17.6 |
5.0 |
7.7 |
14.1 |
|
Return on equity (12 months), % |
1.1 |
2.1 | ||
|
Return on invested capital (12 months), % |
1.3 |
4.7 | ||
|
Equity ratio, % |
47.5 |
46.2 | ||
|
Gearing, % |
21.1 |
23.5 | ||
|
Gross capital expenditure, EUR million |
19.8 |
69.9 |
61.1 |
134.7 |
|
Average number of employees |
27,253 |
27,460 | ||
|
Dividends, EUR million |
- |
- |
- |
6.8 |
* Non-IFRS = before non-recurring items
Heikki Malinen, President and CEO
"The year 2013 was very challenging for Itella. Itella's result decreased from the previous year and showed a loss before taxes. The result was weakened by the drastic transformation of the postal industry, which was reflected in the strong decline in the delivery volumes of traditional letters, newspapers and magazines in Itella Mail Communications. The volumes of Itella Logistics were impacted by the economic recession and the tight competition in the transport industry. The full-year operating result was affected by significant non-recurring items.
Among Itella's businesses, Itella Logistics showed a more substantial loss than in the previous year. This was a disappointment. On the other hand, Itella Logistics' Russian operations recorded a satisfactory result, and we are expecting the Logistics business group to improve its result markedly in 2014.
The excellent performance of OpusCapita, formerly Itella Information, was one of the most positive developments of 2013. The business group was renamed at the beginning of November. OpusCapita improved its operating result significantly in 2013. The full-year result of Itella Mail Communications decreased, but the business group recorded a strong result in the fourth quarter, driven by seasonal sales.
In April, we announced a new performance improvement program for 2013-2014 to ensure our competitiveness and profitability. The program aims at EUR 100 million in cost savings, and we are already halfway there. The program brings savings through restructuring and enhancing the efficiency of operations and processes, eliminating unprofitable operations, making savings in sourcing and improving productivity.
At the end of October, we announced our new vision and strategy for the company. We worked on this new vision throughout the year. Our operations will be more customer-focused than ever before. We want to be the first choice for postal, logistics and e-commerce services and ensure that trade and everyday life run smoothly.
We have revised our strategy and vision in response to global changes in the postal industry, communications and trade. These developments are strongly affecting Finland, among many other countries, as the rapid and extensive increase in electronic communications is substantially decreasing the volume of letter, newspaper and magazine deliveries. The situation is particularly challenging in early-morning newspaper deliveries, where a significant increase in unit costs creates profitability pressures for Itella and publishers. For this reason, Itella is willing to establish companies specializing in early-morning deliveries in cooperation with publishers. Itella could hold a majority or minority interest in such a regional company.
Our primary goal for the coming years is to ensure a sustainable foundation for profitable operations in order to develop high-quality postal services, secure funding for our universal service obligation and make sufficient investments in growth areas. Instead of expansion, we are investing in and focusing on our core businesses.
We are seeking growth and profitability in the Russian market as well as e-commerce, which is increasing strongly. In the future, Russia will be our main market, alongside Finland. Our Russian strategy also benefits Finnish export companies, as the expanding logistics network enables increased exports.
People's mobility and use of time are changing, and feedback indicates that our customers value flexibility and a diverse range of services. We want to be even closer to our customers. We increased the number of postal service points by more than 200 in 2013, with the total standing at 1,310 at the end of the year. The goal is to increase the number of service points to 1,700 by 2020.
We had to make some difficult decisions in 2013. The year was particularly challenging for our personnel. As a result of cooperation negotiations, our personnel numbers decreased by a total of 637 person-years in 2013. In January 2014, we started cooperation negotiations at Itella Posti that may lead to a reduction of 1,200 jobs in basic delivery. We will be able to implement part of the reduction through voluntary arrangements and attrition."
APPENDICES
Itella’s Financial Statements Review and the Board of Directors’ Report (PDF)
Corporate Governance Statement 2013 (PDF)
MORE INFORMATION
Heikki Malinen, President and CEO, and Sari Helander, CFO
Tel. +358 20 452 3366 (MediaDesk)
DISTRIBUTION
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
Key media
www.itella.com/financials
FINANCIAL CALENDAR IN 2014
Interim Report Q1/2013, April 30
Interim Report Q2/2013, July 18
Interim Report Q3/2013, November 3
IMAGES AND LOGOS
www.itella.com/media
