Austrian Post has reported revenue, profit and parcel volume growth for the last three financial quarters in its latest financial report.
Adjusted operating profit was up 48.1% to €266.3 million on revenues of €1.835 billion, up 8.8% on the three quarters to December 2020. Parcel volumes grew by 16% in Austria and 14% in Turkey. Letter mail volumes however fell by 4%.
CEO Georg Pölzl said of the positive results, “The first three quarters of 2021 were very successful for Austrian Post. After a difficult prior year which was strongly impacted by the effects and restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic starting at the end of March 2020, all key indicators for this financial year have improved across the board. We are very satisfied with operational development in the core business as well as with steady growth of our subsidiaries.
“Austrian Post’s Group revenue rose by 22.2 % in the first three quarters of 2021, driven by 8.8 % organic growth and the full consolidation of the Turkish subsidiary Aras Kargo. Following high growth rates in the previous quarter, third-quarter 2021 revenue was up by 10.5 % year-on-year or 2.4 % on a like-for-like basis excluding the subsidiary Aras Kargo. However, basic trends impacting current business activities remain unchanged: The volume decline in traditional letter mail continues, the advertising business remains volatile and shows a marginal downward trend, whereas parcel volumes have increased once again over the last quarterly periods.
“The revenue mix reflected the structural change and enhanced importance of the parcel segment. The Parcel & Logistics Division generated 49.0 % of total revenue in the first three quarters of 2021 whereas the Mail Division’s share fell to 48.3 %. Parcel revenue increased by 57.1 % year-on-year to EUR 905.6m. Not only the Turkish subsidiary Aras Kargo but also organic growth of 22.8 % in the first three quarters of 2021 and 14.4 % in the third quarter underline the significance of this business which is benefitting from the ongoing increase in e-commerce. Naturally, the Mail Division has to cope with a downward volume development, but revenue in the first nine months of 2021 has improved nevertheless by 1.1 % to EUR 893.4m. The Retail & Bank Division also reported revenue growth of 6.7 % to EUR 48.8m. bank99 was launched in April 2020 and offers focused financial services to its customers. The division should be able to further expand its business due to the acquisition of ING’s retail business in Austria, which was communicated in June 2021. The closing is expected to take place by the end of 2021, subject to regulatory approval.”
Georg Pölzl concluded, “Earnings in the first three quarters of 2021 also reflect the improved revenue situation. Against the backdrop of a prior-year development strongly impacted by COVID-19 and the expansion of the parcel business, EBITDA rose by 48.1 % to EUR 266.3m, and EBIT was up by 76.9 % to EUR 144.0m. Third-quarter EBIT also increased by 22.4 % to EUR 40.6m. The Mail Division reported an EBIT improvement of 3.8 % to EUR 110.8m in the first three quarters of 2021, which is due to the higher letter and direct mail revenue after a prior-year period that was negatively affected by COVID-19. EBIT of the Parcel & Logistics Division increased from EUR 32.6m to EUR 81.3m in the first nine months of 2021.”
