FedEx and Deutsche Post DHL were the best-performing CEP stocks in 2017, followed by Austrian Post and bpost, while UPS, Royal Mail and PostNL performed relatively poorly, according to a CEP-Research review of seven major international express/parcel and postal operators.
FedEx and DP DHL generated high double-digit returns last year, Austrian Post and bpost achieved low double-digit increases, UPS generated only a low single-digit rise, and Royal Mail and PostNL recorded slight declines, analysis of their share prices showed.
FedEx had a strong year on the stock exchange, with ups and downs in the first few months followed by strong growth with few interruptions from May onwards. Overall, the company’s share price rose by 32.95% from $187.70 (closing price on January 3, 2017) to $249.54 (closing price on December 29, 2017).
Deutsche Post DHL performed well during 2017, with low increases in the first half of the year and then a steady rise through to the end of the year. The German group’s share price rose by 26.59% from €31.40 (January 2) to €39.75 (December 29). This included a year-high of €40.99 on December 18 which was also an all-time record since the company’s flotation back in November 2000.
Two other European postal operators also had a good year for trading. Austrian Post’s share price rose by 18.96% from €32.43 (January 2) to €38.58 (December 29), while Belgian group bpost achieved a rise of 11.71% from €22.88 (January 2) to €25.56 (December 29).
In contrast, the UPS share showed only low growth in 2017, rising 3.93% overall. After starting the year at $114.64 (closing price on January 2), it dropped sharply that month, recovered steadily over the following months and ended the year at $119.15 (closing price on
December 29).
The weakest performers among the seven CEP stocks last year were Royal Mail and PostNL.
Royal Mail’s share price dropped by 2.08% during 2017 from 462.10 pence (January 3) to 452.50 pence (December 29). The share dropped sharply in January and moved mostly sideways through the first half-year before dropping back and then recovering in the second half of the year.
Dutch postal operator PostNL saw its share price decline by 1.69% from €4.15 (January 2) to €4.08 (December 29).
CEP-Research tracks the share prices of these seven companies on a daily basis and displays their performance in a Stock Quotes table on its website.
