Swiss Post increased profits last year thanks to continued diversification of its businessactivities. It now plans to set up a new unit focusing on solutions for business customers.
The Swiss national postal operator improved its net profit in 2006 by 3.2% to CHF 837 millionwhile turnover rose by around 5% to CHF 7,895 million. The main growth factors were theacquisitions of the GHP Group and MailSource Inc. in the USA as well as Financial Services(PostFinance) and its International business.
The trend towards dwindling volumes of traditional domestic and international letter itemscontinued last year, with 1.8% fewer addressed letters and 4.3% fewer unaddressed letters processedthan in the previous year. In contrast, the volume of parcels remained stable, while the number ofexpress items in Switzerland rose by 5.5% The net inflow of new money at PostFinance increased by23.4%.
Swiss Post said that all divisions ended the year in profit. The results will ensure thatSwiss Post, in line with national law, will be able to fund its investments and pension paymentsfrom its own resources.
The postal group now intends to support its sustained growth and enhance its innovativenessby adjusting its organizational structure. Swiss Post is to bundle its innovative and electronicnew businesses in Switzerland and abroad in a new unit named “Business Customer Solutions”, managedby Frank Marthaler, currently Head of Strategic Customer Management.
The unit will add new offerings such as document management, dialogue marketing and billingand e-business solutions across Switzerland and worldwide to complement Swiss Post’s mail,logistics and payment solutions. By taking this step, Swiss Post said that it is continuing itsstrategy of expanding its core business to include further services up and down the value chain.
In addition, Head of the PostLogistics Group unit Michel Kunz will also take over themanagement of PostMail as of 1 December 2007. Josef Bösch, the current Head of PostMail, willretire on this date.
