Singapore Post has succeeded in keeping its revenues and profits largely stable in the firstquarter of its 2009-10 financial year thanks to logistics growth and despite a marked drop in its
mail business.In the April-June 2009 quarter, the company increased revenues marginally by 0.7% to S$121.8million (€59.83 million) as the first-time consolidation of international mail operator G3AP helpedoffset the declines in operating performances due to the international recession. The operatingprofit fell 2.2% to S$47.9 million (€23.53 million) and the net profit dropped 0.1% to S$39.4million (€19.35 million).
SingPost’s mail revenue declined 7.2% to S$85.9 million as volumes dipped in both domesticand international mail. Retail business held steady, with revenue at S$16.5 million, unchanged fromthe same quarter last year.
Logistics revenue, which included G3AP for the first time, increased 90.7% to S$34.4 million.Excluding G3AP, logistics revenue fell as Speedpost traffic slowed down in tandem with reducedbusiness activities, the company said.
Wilson Tan, CEO of SingPost, said: “The operating environment remains challenging anddifficult. The performance of our business segments in the first quarter clearly reflects thecontinued weak economy and lower demand. Although the government has made an upward revision to theeconomic forecast for the year, any recovery is expected to be weak and protracted.”
He added: “Operating expenses for the quarter rose 5.5%. Excluding costs increasesattributable to G3AP, operating expenses would have declined. We have been prudent on expenses,cutting back on discretionary costs and managing capacity in tandem with the slowdown in businessactivities. Concurrently, we have been working on business and process reviews to strengthen ourbusiness and enhance our efficiency and productivity.”
The CEO pointed out that SingPost continued to pursue opportunities to grow its business,both locally and internationally. The strategic acquisitions of G3AP, by acquiring the remaining50% from TNT and Royal Mail, and Postea, with a 30% share in the US postal technology firm, wouldextended the group’s core competency and tap on new market potential.
SingPost also extended its e-commerce activities during the quarter by offering new onlineshopping services for Asia Pacific customers buying from European and Japanese websites. Togetherwith the existing vPostUSA service, the new vPostEurope and vPostJapan services enable consumers inMalaysia, Thailand, India and Australia to buy from some 350,000 online stores in the USA, Europeand Japan, and have the goods delivered to their homes.
