Austrian Post yesterday announced plans to cut operating costs by about €30 million over the coming12 months and reduce capital expenditure by 20% in 2009 in response to the economic downturn.
The operating cost reductions will cover materials and operating expenses but exclude staffcosts, the company said. These savings and the 20% capital expenditure savings will not impactnegatively on infrastructure, however, it stressed.
Rudolf Jettmar, Chairman and CEO, told some 400 shareholders at yesterday’s Annual GeneralMeeting that Austrian Post would not be immune to the negative effects of the economic downturn onmail and parcel volumes this year. The company would focus on offering products and services tomeet customer needs while reducing costs and improving operational efficiency.
Jettmar also called for the forthcoming postal law regulating full market opening in 2011 toensure fair competition and a level playing-field. In particular, Austrian Post wanted compensationfor the costs of providing the universal postal service, a flexible pricing policy and fair labourregulations based on a collective wage agreement for the entire postal sector, he said.
Supervisory board chairman Peter Michaelis, head of the Austrian state holding company ÖIAG,declared that there are no plans to sell a stake in the company to Deutsche Post. “The story ispure speculation,” he told shareholders. There are no current plans to further reduce the state’s53% majority holding in Austrian Post, he stressed.
