Unternehmensprofil

37% higher dividend for shareholders Group launches new value enhancement strategy (8 April 2002)

In 2001, a year marked by economic difficulties, Deutsche Post World Net has continued to pursue the successful journey it began some years ago. The Group’s revenue and profit figures surpassed the record heights achieved in 2000. Revenue rose by 2.1% to €33.4bn while profit from operating (EBITA) increased by 7.3% to some €2.6bn. At today’s press conference on the Group’s financial statements, the successful fiscal year 2001 prompted Chairman of the Board of Management Dr Klaus Zumwinkel to suggest a higher dividend for shareholders: “At our Annual General Meeting, thanks to our positive figures we will propose a dividend of 37 cents per share – an increase of 37%.” Deutsche Post World Net increased its net profit for the period before minority interest (profit after tax) by 4.3% from €1.5bn to around €1.6bn, raising earnings per share also by more than 4% from €1.36 to €1.42.

Dr Edgar Ernst, Board Member Finance, emphasised that in comparison with other DAX 30 companies Deutsche Post World Net ranks highly on income and financial strength. Among the DAX companies it has the eleventh highest revenue and the seventh highest consolidated net profit while its net gearing is among the lowest.

Chairman Zumwinkel rates the past fiscal year positively. “In Year One after our IPO we have succeeded in surpassing the record figures of 2000, despite a severe economic downswing. For 2002 we expect to continue the Group’s successful journey, however it will be a challenge to surpass our operating profit yet again. Through the full consolidation of DHL and further organic growth we anticipate strong revenue increases of more than 20% to over €41bn.”

Following the restructuring and internationalisation of the Group in the 90s Zumwinkel has just launched phase three of the corporate strategy. “We want to be number one in the worldwide logistics industry - by leveraging our large growth and cost reduction potential sensibly,” stated the Chairman. To achieve these goals rapidly, Deutsche Post World Net launched a broad, Group-wide value enhancement project by the name of STAR. “We believe that STAR will result in strong new impulses for our stock, so STAR is a programme that will also directly benefit our shareholders,” said Zumwinkel at the press conference.

Mail holds its own in the competition – Express and Logistics show strong growth – Financial Services strong despite flagging industry

In 2001 the Mail division contributed some €11.7bn to the divisions’ overall revenue of €33.4bn. Mail revenues remained at a near constant level despite increasing competition and the pressure of substitution by electronic media.

With revenue increases of 6.6% (2001 revenue: €6.4bn) and 10.4% (2001 revenue: €9.2bn) respectively, the ascendant Express and Logistics divisions are set to continue their above-average positive development into the future. The interest rates which decreased throughout the year have affected the Financial Services division’s revenue development (€7.6bn).

In 2001 Express, Logistics and Financial Services contributed approximately 66% to total divisional revenues, while the Mail division’s share has shrunk to some 34%.

The rise in foreign revenues clearly reflect the Group’s increasing international outlook - in fiscal year 2001, the Group generated 33% of its revenues abroad (2000: 29%). In comparison to its competitors, Deutsche Post World Net, with the largest international infrastructure, is the best-performing logistics group.

Profit figures also show that the Express, Logistics and Financial Services divisions have made good headway in catching up with the Mail division. In 2001 the three divisions already contributed 30% to the overall profits of all divisions.

At €2bn, the Mail division’s profit from operating activities (EBITA) in 2001 remained almost constant compared to 2000. Express generated a 132% increase to €176m year on year, while the Logistics division’s profits grew by 41% to €159m. Despite the difficult environment, Financial Services succeeded once again in increasing its profits to €552m in 2001.

Following on from these figures, Deutsche Post World Net’s return on sales based on the profit from operating activities before goodwill amortisation (EBITA) is 7.6%. 2001 pre-tax return on equity is 46%.

The Group’s strong income and financial situation is reflected in turn in its improved consolidated balance sheet. Its already low net gearing decreased further to €1.75bn while its cash flow continued to rise to €3.03bn.