Post Danmark, the partly-privatised Danish postal operator, yesterday announced a record pre-taxprofit of DKK 1.187 billion (EUR 159.3 million) for 2006, up almost 15% from 1.033 billion (EUR
138.6 million) the year before, thanks in part, it said, to its investment in Belgium’s La Poste/DePost.Net profit was up by 21% to DKK 893 million (EUR 119.8 million) last year, against DKK 738million (EUR 99 million) in 2005.
Revenues totalled more than DKK 11.7 billion (EUR 1.57 billion), up 2.2% from DKK 11.46billion (EUR 1.54 billion) in 2005, due to stamp price increases and greater turnover from theparcels, press and unaddressed mail units.
But CEO Helge Israelsen put a large part of last year’s success down to the group buying,with financial investor CVC, a 50% stake in the Belgian public postal operator at the beginning oflast year.
“A major reason for the improvement is our involvement in the Belgian De Post/La Poste.During these years, the company is going through a modernisation which now pays off, and this isadvantageous to us as an investor,” he said.
Israelsen added that Post Danmark would make further acquisitions if new opportunities forgenerating growth arose. The postal operator bought 51% of Danish freight forwarderTransportgruppen in January this year.
The group said that falling letter volume meant pre-tax profit in 2007 would be lower thanlast year.
