Deutsche Post’s 1st quarter net income up 4%

Deutsche Post’s 1st quarter net income up 4% German mail, express and logistics giant Deutsche Post World Net reported first quarter net income of 499 million euros ($676.6 million), a 4 percent rise compared to 480 million euros in the same period last year.
   Quarterly operating profit improved 8.7 percent to 998 million euros ($1.35 billion), from 918 million euros in the prior year period. Revenue improved 4.4 percent to 15.5 billion euros ($21 billion), compared to 14.8 billion euros in the first quarter 2006.
   “The first quarter confirmed the positive trends of the preceding
quarters,” said Edgar Ernst, the group’s chief financial officer. “We attained growth in our international mail activities and substantial earnings improvements in the express business.”
   Deutsche Post’s logistics unit, which now operates under DHL Exel Supply Chain and DHL Global Forwarding brands, saw its operating income jump 36.3 percent to 214 million euros ($290.2 million), which the company said was largely attributable to the sale of the waste disposal company Vfw AG, which led to a non-recurring income of 59 million euros ($80 million).
   The division’s overall revenue increased 6.1 percent to 6.2 billion euros ($8.4 billion). “Taking higher integration costs than a year earlier into account, the business development met the group’s expectations,” Deutsche Post said.
   DHL Exel Supply Chain’s revenue climbed 12 percent to 3.19 billion euros ($4.3 billion), which the 10-year contract with the British National Health Service “contributed considerably.”
   The DHL Global Forwarding business unit recorded revenue of 2.19 billion euros ($3 billion), 1.5 percent less than in the same period last year. “The drop was due to currency effects and lower freight rates in some regions,” Deutsche Post said.
   For all of 2007, the group said it still expects operating profit of at least 3.6 billion euros ($4.9 billion).