Deutsche Post DHL CEO Frank Appel today hit out at anti-trade protectionist policies and predicted continued growth and higher profits at the company’s AGM.
Addressing shareholders and other stakeholders, the long-serving chief emphasised he remained optimistic about free trade and globalisation, saying that global trade would continue to grow despite many uncertainties.
“The future is global. Anything else is a misconception,” said Appel. “If you build new barriers, you will not be successful in the long term. Walls are not the solution. We want to make tomorrow better than today. To achieve this, we need to grow together even more.”
The CEO highlighted the positive effects of global trade for improving living conditions in many regions of the world. As the world’s leading logistics company, Deutsche Post DHL Group was investing globally, he said. “And wherever we invest, we help to ensure that society develops and prosperity grows. Protectionism is the wrong path. No matter where it is or what form it takes.”
Appel made clear that Deutsche Post DHL considers itself to be well on track to achieve its strategic and financial goals for 2020. “We are strongly positioned for a successful future. In 2017, with the current structure in place, we achieved the best result in the history of our company.”
He confirmed the goal of increasing operating profit (EBIT) in the current financial year to €4.15 billion, including the effect of €150 million resulting from the transition to IFRS 16. EBIT would top €5 billion by 2020, he said, adding that this was challenging, but realistic.
All the signs pointed toward solid growth, Appel said. E-commerce was growing further and would remain a key engine for the business of Deutsche Post DHL Group. In 2020, an estimated 2.1 billion people around the world would shop online. Global online revenue would increase to USD 4.1 trillion – assuming e-commerce is simple for customers.
“Logistics is the backbone of e-commerce. And we make it really simple. From placing a pick-up order to tracking the current status of an item through to payment.” DHL Parcel Europe’s network already covered 26 countries, said Appel. Bulgaria, Ireland, Croatia and Romania were added in 2017. More than 60,000 parcel drop-off or pick-up points were available, he said.
Looking back at 2017, Appel expressed his satisfaction with the record results. Thanks to strong performance in all four divisions, Deutsche Post DHL Group had lifted consolidated EBIT by 7.2% to €3.74 billion. The Group’s revenue was up 5.4% to €60.4 billion. Appel thanked the Group’s workforce, which numbers approximately 520,000 employees worldwide, for their commitment: “The key to our success is a strong team and the best workforce in the industry.”
Appel said the group had also made excellent progress in the area of climate protection, pointing out that compared with 2007, the company had improved carbon efficiency in logistics by 32%. By 2050, the group’s greenhouse gas emissions are expected to be reduced net to zero.
To this end, Deutsche Post DHL Group had already got a variety of measures off the ground last year, Appel said. For example, the Group in collaboration with staff and cooperation partners had planted over a million trees.
In addition, steps were taken to double production capacity for the StreetScooter, the electric delivery vehicle developed by the Group. The Group already had over 5,500 StreetScooters on the road in Germany, he commented. In the medium term, the company was planning to manufacture around 20,000 cars per year. “E-mobility has finally found its way into people’s heads,” Appel said. “The StreetScooter’s current success is encouraging. It is now time to go up a gear.”
To accelerate the StreetScooter success story, DP DHL recently set up the new Board department Corporate Incubations headed by Jürgen Gerdes, which will also be an incubator for other new innovative and forward-looking ideas, Appel said. New technologies made a lot of things possible. This included hitherto unknown forms of mobility, digital platforms and new processes. “We will invent the future of logistics today,” said Appel. Until a successor for Gerdes as member of the Board of Management Post – eCommerce – Parcel had been found, he himself would be taking responsibility for this Board department.
At the AGM, held in the World Conference Center in Bonn, around 1,600 shareholders approved the resolutions proposed by the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board by large majorities. Shareholders with a majority equivalent to 99.93% of the company’s share capital present at the AGM resolved to pay a dividend of €1.15 per share. This reflects an increase of €0.10 over the previous year’s level.
The Annual General Meeting gave a vote of confidence with large majorities to the Board of Management (with 99.67% of the votes cast) and the Supervisory Board (99.59%) for the financial year 2017. With great majority, the Annual General Meeting also approved the remuneration system for the Board of Management and resolved two authorizations for a drawing of contingent capital.
As part of elections to the Supervisory Board, the Annual General Meeting elected Dr. Günther Bräunig, CEO of KfW Bankengruppe (89.54% of the votes cast), and Dr. Mario Daberkow, a member of the Management Board of Volkswagen Financial Services AG (99.18% of votes cast), as members of the Supervisory Board until the 2023 Annual General Meeting. Dr. Ulrich Schröder had resigned due to health reasons. In addition, the term of office of Prof. Dr Wulf von Schimmelmann, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, ends as scheduled at the end of today’s Annual General Meeting.
In a meeting following the Annual General Meeting, the Supervisory Board elected Dr. Nikolaus von Bomhard, the former chairman of the Board of Management of Münchener Rück AG, as its new chairman and Andrea Kocsis as deputy chairman.
