Deutsche Post will respond to investor criticism by making its financial results more transparent,and will restate the last eight quarters, according to chairman Klaus Zumwinkel. The measures will
be presented on November 8.“I accept the criticism and promise more transparency,” he told Der Spiegel magazine in aninterview published today. “That’s why, for example, we will re-state the last eight quarters,” hesaid. Deutsche Post would give answers to “all the criticisms” when presenting its third-quarterresults in Frankfurt on November 8, he said.
Following investor criticism about intransparent financial reporting and poor financialmarket communications, the group appointed John Allan as CFO in place of long-serving Edgar Ernstwith effect from October 1. In a statement released at the time, Allan said the new capital marketsstrategy to be presented on November 8 would focus on “more performance, more cash generation, moretransparency”.
Zumwinkel also stressed that Deutsche Post is ready to enter the market for free newspapers “when someone comes to us with the right concept”. He criticised the Axel Springer publishing group,also majority owner of mail operator PIN Group, for campaigning against Deutsche Post over theplan. On recent media reports that TNT might want to buy German mail group PIN, Zumwinkel commentedthat “the industry knows TNT always wanted to buy PIN”.
Referring to the ongoing political debate over the introduction of minimum wages in theGerman postal sector, Zumwinkel forecast the necessary legislation would go through by the end ofNovember. After a meeting of the German ruling coalition parties on Sunday, various seniorpoliticians said the minimum wage was likely to enter force on January 1, 2008, when the market wasfully liberalised.
But chancellor Angela Merkel stressed the legislation needed to ensure that minimum wagescovered at least half of the postal sector employees, and that there would be fair treatment ofDeutsche Post and competitors on the issue of VAT. Further discussions would be held this week, shesaid.
