Russian Post CEO Alexander Kiselyov is aiming to float the Russian state postal operator in 2013after a major improvement in revenues and profits in 2010 and the first quarter of this year.
Kiselyov stressed at the recent press conference of the Russian Ministry of Communications thatthe corporatisation of Russian Post might be carried out during 2013 if a special law can beadapted that regulates the process of transforming the Federal postal operator into a joint stocksociety. “Changing its legal form is a prerequisite for Russian Post to develop efficiently in themarket environment,” he said.
The CEO stressed that the 2010 financial results have proved that Russian Post is on the righttrack with its chosen strategy. The operator’s revenues rose 10% to RUB 105 billion (€2.63 billion)last year. The net profit of Russian Post amounted to RUB 483 million (€12.12 million) surpassingthe profits of the previous year by RUB 180 million (€4.52 million). The company increasedinvestment in modernisation of its postal system by 60% last year to around RUB 8 billion (€200million).
The financial improvement continued in the first quarter of 2011 and the seasonal loss wasreduced by 1% to RUB 152.9 million. Russian Post’s revenues from sales of products and servicesincreased 18.9% to RUB 28.08 billion (€704.69 million) compared to the same period of the previousyear. This dynamic revenue development was mainly due to strong growth in core services. Revenuesfrom postal services rose 24% during the January-March 2011 period while parcel delivery grew evenmore strongly by 26% and written correspondence also increased by 20%. Growth was boosted byshipping volumes in letters and parcels rising by 7% and 12% respectively.
Russian Post’s express subsidiary EMS Russian Post showed one of the most dynamic developmentsduring the first quarter of 2011 with a 39% increase in express volumes. “EMS Russian Post is oneof the main growth drivers in the product portfolio of Russian Post,” Kiselyov pointed out. Theexpress business continued to show rapid growth in 2010 with a 44% increase in revenues to RUB 2.6billion (€65.25 million) compared to 2009. The number of delivered EMS shipments increased 4.3% to4.8 million items. The postal operator expects to grow its express business at least by 40% infuture enabling it to occupy 25% of the Russian express market.
As part of its reorganisation, Russian Post will focus on several key areas in particularincluding express delivery, financial services, postal services as well as retail and distancetrade. According to Kiselyov, the company plans to invest at least RUB 14 billion (€351.25 million)in its development. One of its priorities will be the development of the express deliveryinfrastructure.
This year, Russian Post is increasingly concentrating on developing a corporate businessstrategy and, as ordered by Russia’s president Dmitry Medvedev, the company has elaborated aninnovative development programme.
Kiselyov considers technological and industrial modernisation, the development of qualityservices and new business lines, as well as raising the level of postal security as the key issuesfor the short-term future.
The head of Russian Post also pointed out the current problems of service quality proposingsolutions to these issues. To increase the speed of mail delivery, the company is modernising itslogistics infrastructure while automating production processes with the opening of automatedsorting centres in Moscow and St. Petersburg last year. To ensure a high-quality postal service allover the country, Russian Post aims to establish a nationwide network of automated sorting centreswith construction of new sites in Rostov-on-Don, Novosibirsk and Mineralnye Vody due to start thisyear.
One of the effective measures Russian Post has implemented to ensure the safety of postaltraffic is the creation of an automated monitoring system of vehicles based on the technologyGLONASS / GPS. Online transmission of information regarding the status and location of the postalmachines to the dispatch centres increases security control preventing unauthorised access to cargotransported in vehicles and minimises the probability of other incidents. In 2010, 2,000 of the10,000 vehicles in Russian Post’s fleet have been equipped with the terminals GLONASS / GPS.
