Spanish post operator Correos increased profits last year by 5.2% and is extending its portfoliowith an upgraded parcel service. It has also signed a postal network access deal with express firm
MRW.Correos closed 2007 with pre-tax profits of €149.6 million, a rise of 5.2% on the previousyear. Revenues were up 4.4% to €2.1 billion. Mail volumes rose by 2.2%, including election-relatedpost, based on more added-value mail products. The Spanish postal operator said the profit figureconfirmed its positive development over the last three years and its solid financial position in anincreasingly competitive market.
Correos last year concluded a four-year programme of €1 billion investment in technology,infrastructure and operations. In 2007, it invested €233 million in areas such as infrastructuremodernisation and new technology for mail operations.
Meanwhile, the Spanish postal operator said it will shortly launch an upgraded domesticexpress parcel service under the name Postal Exprés Nacional. This service is designed for urgentparcel deliveries, signed for by addressees, with a delivery time of no more than 24 hours for mostdestinations. Although primarily for business customers, it will also be available to consumers.
The new product offers three types of delivery option: standard home delivery, return tosender for failed delivery attempts, or a new option of pick-up from a post office of the customer’s choice. Customers can also receive parcel status information by SMS. In contrast, Chronoexprés,the postal operator’s express subsidiary, offers time-definite next-day deliveries within Spain andinternational express services.
Separately, Correos has signed a postal network access agreement with MRW, which is thus thefirst of the leading Spanish express parcel firms to show clear interest in the mail market. Thelatest agreement was signed with MRW Postal (Top Way). MRW’s postal service is targeted at bulkmail shipments such as brochures and magazines, according to information on the company website.
Five Spanish companies have now signed downstream access agreements, Correos said. The othersare Cartes Lleida, Norcorreo, Mailhouse and Zaybe. Negotiations are taking place with other postaloperators, it added.
