Net profit in the first half of 2018 at Poste Italiane was up 44% against last year to €735 million.

Revenues however were down by 1.3% to €5.4 billion, and EBIT up by 24.3% to €1.1 billion.

Poste Italiane’s Mail, Parcel and Distribution business had a 2.8% drop in revenue €1.76bn though EBIT was up 145% at €184 million.

This turnaround in profits appears to be the result of a five-year plan started by the postal operator in 2017 called Deliver 2022. The plan aims among other things to make the company more adept at meeting the challenges of the emerging e-commerce business and becoming more competitive in the parcels market.

In a statement issued yesterday (2 August) regarding the latest results, Matteo Del Fante, Poste Italiane’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director said: “Poste Italiane is solidly progressing in line with our Deliver 2022 targets.

“The second quarter results confirm the early positive impact of the plan’s execution. I am very pleased with the early results of the roll-out of the Joint Delivery Model, characterized by a flawless implementation.

“We offer, amongst other, evening and weekend deliveries. We are efficient and competitive in the eCommerce space with a range of products for B2C customers, that is why Amazon chose us as a long-term partner.

“I am proud to have partnered with FIT1 in order to further enhance eCommerce penetration in Italy with the reach of their points of sale allowing us to keep a solid grip on our market position.

“We are building on the fact that 1 in 3 parcels in Italy are delivered by Poste Italiane, whilst 1 in 4 purchases on line are paid with Postepay cards. Our leadership in eCommerce is positioned to further strengthen with Deliver 2022, with B2C volumes increasing by 40% in the first half of the year including international packets.”

The Poste Italiane CEO concluded: “Deliver 2022 execution and monitoring is our daily focus. We will continue to aim high, making sure to provide quality products and services that meet our customers’ evolving needs.

“Our 2018 targets are confirmed for both the group and each business unit.”