AUSTRIAN POST Q1 2017
INCREASE IN REVENUE AND EARNINGS

  • Revenue positively impacted by seasonal effects
    • Revenue increase of 4.0% to EUR 488.7m (excl. trans-o-flex)
    • Seasonal effects due to the late Easter holiday and two additional working days
    • Basic trends in volume development continue (letters about -5%, parcels about +10%)
  • Stringent focus on customer needs
    • New product structure tailored to the requirements of e-commerce market
    • Expansion of digital service portfolio (e.g. e-letter, shöpping.at)
    • Expansion of capacities in the parcel business
  • Earnings rise due to the good revenue development
    • EBIT up 6.4% to EUR 54.4m
    • Continuing focus on efficiency enhancement and cost discipline
    • Increase in earnings per share to EUR 0.60
  • Outlook 2017 confirmed
    • Aim to generate stable Group revenue in 2017 (2016: EUR 1.9bn)
    • Targeted EBIT in line with 2016 performance  
In the first quarter of the current financial year, Austrian Post’s Group revenue amounted to EUR 488.7m. Adjusted for the subsidiary trans-o-flex sold in April 2016, the revenue increase equals 4.0%. This positive development was strongly influenced by seasonal effects. There were two additional working days in a year-on-year comparison, and the late Easter holidays had a very positive impact on first-quarter direct mail and parcel revenue. Operating earnings (EBIT) totalled EUR 54.4m, an increase of EUR 3.3m from the previous year. This improvement can be attributed to the gratifying revenue development combined with stringent cost discipline. “We are very satisfied with the first-quarter revenue and earnings development, although the increase was mainly driven by seasonal effects. The basic volume development trends are continuing, with letter mail declining as a result of electronic substitution and the parcel business profiting from the dynamic growth of the online shopping market. We are striving to achieve a stable development with respect to both revenue and earnings for the entire 2017 financial year”, comments Georg Pölzl, CEO of Austrian Post.

MAIL REVENUE HELD UP WELL – FURTHER RISE IN PARCEL REVENUE
Revenue of the Mail & Branch Network Division rose by 0.5% to EUR 372.4m during the period under review. This increase is mainly due to the aforementioned positive seasonal effects. The general trend towards electronic substitution of traditional letter mail with a decline of minus 5% per year is continuing. Adjusted for the subsidiary trans-o-flex sold in April 2016, the Parcel & Logistics Division generated revenue growth of 17.2% in the first quarter of 2017. The revenue increase excluding the segment change of the Bulgarian subsidiary M&BM Express OOD equalled 14.5%. The upward revenue development was primarily driven by the ongoing trend towards online shopping reinforced by the previously mentioned seasonal effects.  The launch of a simplified product structure on January 1, 2017 with a mailing offering featuring the “Packet” tailored to the requirements of the e-commerce market also positively influenced revenue development.

QUALITY LEADERSHIP IN THE CORE BUSINESS
“Thanks to the consistent orientation of our business operations to current customer needs and the ongoing improvement of our service offering, Austrian Post remains the undisputed market leader in the delivery of letters, direct mail items and parcels”, Pölzl adds. In particular, the digital service portfolio is constantly being expanded. Recently, the company launched the e-letter. About 90,000 activations demonstrate the enormous interest in this new solution. The new online marketplace “shöpping.at” is also in a state of infancy. The shöpping platform should become a business hub for domestic retailers and consumers thanks to its broad product range and the high delivery quality guaranteed by Austrian Post. At the same time, Austrian Post will continue to strongly focus on enhancing efficiency and developing new innovative solutions. Synergies in the delivery of letters and parcels, also resulting from the market launch of the new “Packet”, are now being more efficiently used. The company is planning to build a new logistics centre north of Vienna to ensure its future ability to handle a strong increase in parcel volumes with the usual high quality.

CLEAR POSITIONING: RELIABILITY AND STABILITY 
A dividend of EUR 2.00 per share for the past financial year was distributed on May 4, 2017. In this way, Austrian Post once again continued its commitment to a clear capital market positioning as a reliable dividend stock. “Reliability and predictability for shareholders and other stakeholders of our company continue to be the focus of our strategic activities, and we aim to continue along this path in the future”, says Pölzl. Accordingly, Austrian Post targets a stable development for the entire 2017 financial year. On the basis of the expected volume development, Austrian Post aims to generate Group revenue at a stable level in 2017 (comparable revenue in 2016 excl. trans-o-flex of EUR 1.9bn). Fluctuations in revenue development over the individual quarterly periods in comparison to the prior-year figures are to be expected. The targeted revenue development combined with cost discipline and efficiently provided services should result in a stable operating EBIT at the same level as in 2016 (2016 EBIT: EUR 202.3m).  

CONTACT
Austrian Post
Ingeborg Gratzer
Head of Press Relations & Internal Communications
Tel.: +43 (0) 57767-32010
ingeborg.gratzer@post.at  

Austrian Post
Harald Hagenauer
Head of Investor Relations, Group Auditing & Compliance
Tel.: +43 (0) 57767-30400
harald.hagenauer@post.at

Q1 2017_Key Figures
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