Estonian Post is expanding its presence in the Baltic parcel market with the acquisition ofUnipakas UAB, a leading logistics player in Lithuania, which extended its operations to Latvia last
year.Unipakas UAB, established in 2005, generated a small net profit of €22,000 in 2011 and expectsturnover of €2 million this year. Eesti Post described Unipakas UAB as a “well-managed and rapidlygrowing company that offers a good quality courier service to business customers in Lithuania andLatvia.”
Eesti Post explained that it aims to merge its Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian networks tobecome the best e-commerce partner in the Baltics and to prepare itself for the overall e-commercegrowth in the three countries. It plans to invest €12 million in developing its services in theBaltics in the next few years.
“Eesti Post has to be a strong, sustainable, and growing company. In order to achieve that, itis necessary to move aggressively to the surrounding markets. To be successful in competing withthe logistics and postal companies operating in the global market and to ensure profitability, wealso need to expand. Estonian Post’s home market is the Baltic region,” said Meelis Atonen, EestiPost’s supervisory board chairman.
Aavo Kärmas, chairman of the management board at Eesti Post, stressed that the need to establisha single network across the Baltics comes from the company’s customers who see the region as onesingle market. “In order to be successful in the Baltics, we had to find a partner who helps movethe trade flows across the Baltic States and Europe.” He explained that the-Baltic-wide networkcreates larger volumes synergies and thereby mitigates the increase of the price pressures relatedto the overall costs.
“Compared to the rest of Europe, there is a great potential in the Baltics in terms ofe-commerce growth. Our goal is to help the Baltic e-shops expand their businesses into theneighbouring countries,” Kärmas concluded.
In addition to its existing 355 post offices, Estonian Post operates 38 parcel lockersthroughout Estonia and 35 in Lithuania branded ‘Post24’. By the end of 2012, it plans to installover 100 Post24 parcel terminals across the three Baltic states.
During the first eight months of this year, the company recorded an operating income of €32.4million and a net profit of €1.8 million. With 2,579 staff, the Estonian Post Group consists of theparent company AS Eesti Post and the subsidiaries Estonian e-Invoicing Centre, Estonian ElectronicMail Ltd., Unipakas UAB and EP-24 UAB in Lithuania, and Post24 SIA in Latvia.
