Correos, Spain’s national postal operator, said it expected revenues of €2.1 billion next year,likely to be up around 5% on this year.
But pre-tax profits for this year would be down by around half, to €117 million from arecord-breaking €240m in 2005, president José Damián Santiago reported.
Damián Santiago said Correos planned to invest nearly €250m in infrastructure, improvementsin post offices, sorting centre automation, staff training, security and transport.
Other costs – mainly personnel and transport – were likely to rise by 7.5%, althoughCorreos expects a increase in staff productivity of 3.2% in the year to come.
“Our objectives of improving quality of access and delivery, efficiency and consolidation ofthe business, require that we continue with our investment effort to modernise infrastructure,technology and communications,” he told parliament.
Growth areas in 2007 would be parcels and pre-paid post (forecast to be up 7.1%), moneydrafts and remittances (10.2% higher), with telegraph (including successful products such as ‘burofax’) up 4.8%.
