A year of “development and transformation” lies ahead for France’s La Poste in 2015 with a mixof growth activities and cost saving measures after profits slumped last year, according to CEO
Philippe Wahl.The French postal group will press ahead with organic and external growth activities to boostits low revenue growth and step up cost reduction measures to improve profitability, he toldjournalists, including CEP-Research, at the 2014 results press conference in Paris yesterday.
One high-profile move will be the relocation and centralisation of the group’s variousdivisional head offices at a campus-style single site outside central Paris. Some 7,000 managerswill be affected by the move. According to French newspaper Les Echos, the location will beIssy-les-Moulineaux, a municipality on the outskirts of Paris where GeoPost is already based.
Reviewing the group’s strategic position, Wahl described 2014 as “a defining year” for Le GroupeLa Poste, characterised by its new strategic plan “La Poste 2020: Conquering the future”. He said: “ La Poste is in full transformation. Strategy 2020 is starting to bring results.” He admitted,however, that “it will take time” to improve the financial results substantially.
In 2014, La Poste increased consolidated revenues just by 2.1% to €22,163 million (+0.9% on alike-for-like basis) but the operating profit dropped by 7.6% to €719 million (-9.9%like-for-like), and net profits declined by 17.7% to €513 million (-20.5% on a like-for-likebasis).
This year the group has targeted a 3% rise in revenues and hopes to improve operating profitsand the operating margin through cost controls and savings despite continually declining mailvolumes. The group also anticipates an improvement in cash flow generation.
Under its new medium-term financial targets, La Poste targets moderate organic growth of about2% a year to reach revenues of more than €25 billion in 2020 and aims for operating profits of €1.9billion (excluding external growth) by then, based on revenue growth and cost reductions.
La Poste says it aims to build “a high-performance multi-business and omni-channel postal model”for its customers and employees and to restore sound financial results. The group has restructuredaround five business units, designed to fulfil its purpose of developing existing businessactivities and conquering new rapidly-growing areas, of modernising its public service missions andof restoring the group’s financial health.
Wahl highlighted innovative services such as the new Facteo range of products offered bydelivery workers equipped with smartphones to home delivery customers, the expansion of Pickupparcel points, as well as innovative projects such as city logistics and new publicservices.
In 2015, La Poste plans to continue rolling out the five-year strategic plan, focusing ondevelopment and cost control. The development will occur both organically and by conquering newareas, in particular through five high-priority shared projects defined around e-commerce, energytransition, modernisation of public action, urban logistics and customer insight.
“We will continue the path of external growth and commercial growth,” Wahl said. Citing theexample of urban logistics, he said that La Poste is currently in contact with all French cityauthorities on this topic. “We want to improve the flow of goods within urban areas,” heexplained.
