The share of bpost is trading more than 9 percent lower on the Brussels stock exchange around 11 am on Friday. Investors are disappointed in the quarterly report that the postal and parcel company presented after the closing bell the day before. Bpost warned, among other things, of a “potential downside risk” of 40 million euros this year and experienced a major drop in parcel volume in its own country.
Although Bpost kept the annual forecast of an adjusted operating profit (EBIT) of 280-310 million euros for the whole of 2022, this has now been followed by a ‘but’. The company spoke of a “potential downside risk” of up to EUR 40 million this year due to high inflation and uncertain consumer behaviour.
This uncertain consumer behavior is related to the normalization of volumes after the corona pandemic and the impact of inflation on demand. The company also referred to the decline in consumer confidence.
Bpost also spoke of an “element of uncertainty” that persists, especially regarding the peak of volumes in the fourth quarter.
The parcel volume in Belgium fell by 14.8 percent compared to the first quarter of 2021. This decrease is due, on the one hand, to the fact that online store giant Amazon is taking the delivery of parcels into its own hands in our country and is therefore relying less and less on bpost. . On the other hand, consumer spending decreases after the parcel boom in times of corona.
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