PostNL wants to cut 200 to 300 full-time jobs this year. The company is also taking other measures to save costs, CEO Herna Verhagen reports in an explanation of the annual figures that the company will present on Monday. The cutbacks mainly affect the packages department.
,,The year 2022 became a year in which we had to navigate in rapidly changing and turbulent circumstances. Global macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions were extremely challenging, with record high inflation and consumer confidence reaching an all-time low. That had an effect on our results,” says Verhagen.
PostNL wants to save a total of 20 million euros this year and another 25 million euros next year. From 2025, annual savings of 30 million euros would then have to be made. At the same time, the postal company is making an additional capital investment of EUR 10 million in innovation and quality in order to be more attractive to customers.
Accidentally
In the PostNL press release, which was accidentally released last night, the postal company reports that the fourth quarter of last year was less strong than the postal company had hoped. After the loss in the third quarter, PostNL was counting on a revival due to the Christmas cards and all the packages that people would order around Sinterklaas and Christmas.
Due to the high inflation, there was already less online shopping in the third quarter and fewer packages were delivered in the fourth quarter as well. The domestic volume of parcels fell by almost 4 percent, while letters fell by 8 percent.
PostNL expects the difficult circumstances to continue this year as well. The company expects a slight decrease in volume and also expects a small loss of market share. “It is therefore crucial that we continue to invest in strengthening our foundation,” says Verhagen. “As a result, we maintain our position in a dynamic and highly competitive market.”
Turnover and profit
The company saw turnover fall to 883 million euros in the fourth quarter. In the same quarter of 2021, that was still 936 million euros. The EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) fell from 93 million to 60 million euros. For the full year, sales amounted to 3.1 billion euros, a decrease of 6 percent compared to the previous year. Profit fell by 73 percent, from 308 to 84 million euros.
PostNL is also postponing the second part of the share buyback program, which was to be implemented in the course of 2023, until things improve financially. The first tranche of the programme, with a total value of up to EUR 250 million, was completed last year. The company proposes a dividend of 0.16 euros per ordinary share. In 2021, that was still 0.42 euros.