Strong performance in Q4 leads to underlying cash operating income of €188 million for the year, in upper-part of guided range
(note: Nexive and Postcon are classified as discontinued operations, resulting in adjusted segment reporting. All financials are based on continuing operations except where noted.)
- Revenue increased to €2,772 million (FY 2017: €2,725 million)
- Revenue contribution from e-commerce related activities increased to 48%
- Underlying cash operating income was €188 million (FY 2017: €241 million)
- Profit from continuing operations at €127 million (FY 2017: €179 million)
- Revenue increased to €794 million (Q4 2017: €782 million)
- Underlying cash operating income at €100 million (Q4 2017: €104 million)
- Profit from continuing operations increased to €76 million (Q4 2017: €72 million)
- Strong growth Parcels volumes, 20% increase in Q4 (FY 2018: 22%)
- Addressed mail volume declined by 10.2% (FY 2018: 10.7%); adjusted volume decline 10.8% in Q4, corrected for one working day
- Delivery quality 2018 remained stable at 95%
- €14 million cost savings realised (FY 2018: €48 million); improving run-rate in HY2
- Proposed dividend 2018 of €0.24 per share (2017: €0.23), subject to approval by AGM on 16 April 2019
- Expected underlying cash operating income 2019 between €170 million and €200 million
- Dividend policy unchanged
- Following today’s announcement ’PostNL and Sandd to form one strong national postal network for the Netherlands’, the financial outlook and dividend perspective for 2019 might change. The financial consequences are explained in the separate press release and presentation
Herna Verhagen, CEO of PostNL: “Step by step we are realising our strategy of becoming the postal and e-commerce logistics company of choice for customers. In 2018, 48% of our revenue came from activities related to e-commerce, evidencing our transition. We achieved an underlying cash operating income in the upper-part of our guidance, with a strong performance in Q4, our peak season.
In Parcels, we reported record-high volumes during our peak season and operational performance improved on the back of increasing volumes. At the same time, we faced additional capacity costs, partly explained by a tight labour and transport market and increasing IT costs related to further development of our digital services. In Spring, the competitive environment remained fierce, especially in Asia, putting pressure on volume and on margin. Performance at Mail in the Netherlands was characterised by volume decline, price increases and cost savings. The run-rate of cost savings improved in the second half of 2018.
In line with our strategy to focus on the Benelux, we decided in August to divest Postcon in Germany and Nexive in Italy. We are making good progress with the divestment process and expect to make further announcements before the summer.
In 2019, we will continue to build on a strong platform for further growth. For Parcels, we are improving the balance between volume growth, profitability and cash flow. In Mail in the Netherlands, we will further adapt our organisation to volume decline and stay focused on achieving cost savings. We will make a next step in our business model by the introduction of the New mail route. The switch to an equal flow model enables us to adapt our organisation to future volume decline. On 7 May 2019 we will host a Capital Markets Day where we will discuss our strategy for Parcels in the years to come that will result in improved value creation and will announce mid-term guidance for PostNL.