France’s La Poste today unveiled a sharp drop in half-year profits due to tough trading conditionsand lower mail volumes and confirmed that financial services chief Philippe Wahl has been nominated
to replace Jean-Paul Bailly as CEO.Wahl, head of La Banque Postale, was officially proposed today by the French group’ssupervisory board as new CEO, with his nomination requiring formal approval by French PresidentFrançois Hollande and the French Parliament.
The 57-year-old has held various political, administrative and business posts during hiscareer, including at French bank Paribas, the French national savings bank organisation CNCE andthe Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) as well as at the Havas and Bolloré groups. He became head of LaPoste’s financial services division in January 2011.
Bailly, who will remain as CEO until Wahl’s appointment has been confirmed, announced lastmonth that he wanted to step down early, citing personal reasons and the desire to hand over to asuccessor who could implement the group’s new mid-term strategy. His contract is due to expire inNovember 2014.
Meanwhile, La Poste also released its half-year results today, showing stagnating revenuesand a drop in profits due to difficult trading conditions in France and the rest of Europe as wellas lower mail volumes.
The group’s revenues for January – June 2013 rose fractionally by 0.6 per cent to €10.95billion, which was a 0.3 per cent fall on a like-for-like basis. The operating profit fell 23.6 percent to €483 million, which was an underlying decline of 23.1 per cent. The operating profit margindropped to 4.4 per cent from last year’s 5.8 per cent. Net profits declined 9.3 per cent to €396million, which was 8.5 per cent lower on a like-for-like basis.
The Mail division’s revenues declined 3.2 per cent to €5.64 billion (-4.4 per centlike-for-like) mostly due to a 6 per cent drop in volumes resulting from the weak French economywhich outweighed a price increase in January. Mail profits slumped 30 per cent to €327 million.
The Express Parcels division, comprising GeoPost and Coliposte, increased revenues by 5.3 percent to €2.84 billion, which was a 5 per cent rise on a like-for-like basis. Its profits fell by 13per cent to €182 million, mostly due to a negative price-mix trend.
GeoPost’s revenues in France and abroad increased by 6.6 per cent to €2.07 billion andvolumes rose by 8.6 per cent. The main growth markets were the UK, France, Benelux and EasternEurope while Spain returned to a ‘positive’ trend thanks to a new commercial plan, La Poste noted.Coliposte, the French B2C delivery business, increased revenues by 1.9 per cent to €767 million.Its volumes grew by 2.2 per cent thanks to a 5.5 per cent rise in B2C volumes.
The financial services division increased revenues by 3.5 per cent to €2.76 billion thanks tohigher savings deposits and property loans, and profits grew by a strong 15.9 per cent to €403million. The small mobile phone business, La Poste Mobile, increased revenues by 5.7 per cent to€71 million.
Looking ahead to the second half of 2013, La Poste said its results will depend on mailvolume trends and market conditions. The group is targeting low revenue growth for the year as awhole and continued cost control.
