The Post wants to raise prices

class=”sc-97fd9fa8-0 jNFKxv”>

The war in Ukraine ruined the Post’s business. The record high price increases increased the costs for the yellow giant, but the group was unable to pass this on to customers. De Post also speaks of lower income at the financial subsidiary Postfinance as a result of the interest rate turnaround. The group is also concerned about the falling volumes of letters and parcels.

Swiss Post’s consolidated profit fell by 157 million francs and still stands at 295 million francs. The operating result at EBIT level over the past year is also lower by this amount, namely still at 358 million.

The company notes that customers are ordering noticeably less online since Russia attacked Ukraine. And due to global delivery bottlenecks due to the corona pandemic in 2022, many retailers would have been unable to deliver their goods or with a delay. Moreover, the drop in letter post could not be compensated by the higher letter post rates.

In the long run, the packages increase

But the yellow giant should not paint too black. During Corona, parcel volumes had grown by leaps and bounds. In 2022, they suffered a setback. But compared to 2019, Swiss Post still transported 30 percent more parcels last year.

From the point of view of the postal group, the comparison with 2019 shows that the long-term trend for parcels is pointing further upwards. That is why they continue to invest in parcel handling and expand regional sorting centers.

Post finance does not excel

Postfinance, the financial institution of the Swiss Post, also posted an operating result that was 43 million francs lower at 229 million francs. The former cash cow of the group did not shine that way. In comparison, the Raiffeisen Group announced a week ago that it had made a profit of CHF 1.18 billion in 2022 and had improved its result by more than ten percent.

According to the Yellow Institute, the elimination of negative interest rates has left its mark. The effects of the fact that Postfinance’s policy prevents it from operating as a full-service bank and, for example, independently offering mortgages, are probably visible here. Yet here too it is important not to be too pessimistic about the future: the interest rate turn should offer Postfinance the opportunity to achieve higher profitability in the future, according to the press release. This gives Postfinance boss Hansruedi Köng (57), who will leave at the end of February 2024, the chance to finish his last year at the Post Group with better results.

Consultation with price supervisors

However, Swiss Post is facing a difficult year. 2023 will be “particularly demanding”, CEO Roberto Cirillo (51) quotes in the press release. In order to continue to exist without subsidies, the state-owned company wants to push through higher prices from next year. “Discussions with the price monitor to adjust prices from 2024 are taking place,” the press release states. It remains to be seen whether it will succeed in pushing through higher prices in the battle with price scammer Stefan Meierhans (54).

But Swiss Post president Christian Levrat (52) is already looking further into the future of his group: “Thanks to its strategy, Swiss Post has created a stable and sustainable base. With this, Swiss Post gives Swiss politicians time to set the course for further development after 2030.”

Source:Blick