In the past quarter, PostNL saw the amount of parcels to be processed decline, as did the turnover. At the same time, the postal company has tried to reduce costs, for example by reorganizing the parcel department and optimizing delivery routes. PostNL itself speaks of a result ‘beyond its own expectations’.
Turnover for the first months of 2023 amounted to 783 million euros, a decrease of 3 percent on an annual basis. The amount of processed packages fell by 6.5 percent in that period. After deduction of costs, the profit amounted to 4 million euros. That is considerably less than a year earlier, when the profit was still 34 million euros.
Top woman Herna Verhagen is nevertheless satisfied. She speaks of a ‘positive effect of the necessary steps’ that the postal company had to take to reduce costs. This includes measures to counter inflationary pressures and declining volumes. For example, the elimination of up to three hundred support jobs in the Parcels department at PostNL. From 2024, all these measures should save around 25 million euros in costs annually.
Reorganization according to plan
According to PostNL, the reorganization is progressing according to plan. ,,We are discussing this with employee participation bodies, so that clarity can quickly come about where positions should be released,” explains financial director Pim Berendsen. To some extent this will be a natural progression, he says. He also sees no need to cut more jobs for now.
,,All in all, we are satisfied with the way the year has started”, says Verhagen. According to her, the economic climate remains uncertain, but for now the company expects to achieve a profit of between 70 and 100 million euros at the end of 2023. That is the profit before interest and taxes.
PostNL traditionally has to deal with the last quarter of the year, says Berendsen. A relatively large number of parcels and postal items are sent around the holidays. “For the second quarter of this year, we expect a result that is in line with last year’s result. We are already ahead of our expectations based on the first quarter, so we are very comfortable that we will meet our target for 2023”, says Berendsen.
Comment can be found at the bottom of this article. Only comments with a full name are placed. We do that because we want a debate with people who stand for what they say, and therefore put their name to it. Those who still need to enter their name can do so by clicking ‘Login’ at the top right of our site.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.