Corporate | 28 July 2005 07:29

Deutsche Post World Net EBIT increase by more than 10 %

Corporate-news transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Deutsche Post World Net EBIT increase by more than 10 % – Full-year earnings forecast confirmed – 2005 dividend to increase by at least one third – Chairman Zumwinkel: Group is on the right track Bonn, July 28, 2005: In the first six months of 2005, Deutsche Post World Net increased its profit from operating activities (EBIT) by 10.6 percent to about 1.7 billion euros. At 21.5 billion euros, revenue rose slightly compared with the first six months of 2004. First-half net income amounted to 939 million euros compared with 721 million euros in the same period a year earlier. Earnings per share increased from 65 euro cents to 84 euro cents. In the second quarter, net income grew by 76 percent from 275 million euros in the year-earlier quarter to 484 million euros, or 43 euro cents per share. “Our development in the first six months shows that we are on the right track,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Klaus Zumwinkel. “I can confirm once again that we will reach our earnings target of 3.6 billion euros for this year.” A lower tax rate of 19.3 percent and the discontinuation of goodwill amortization under International Financial Reporting Standards IFRS were among the main contributing factors to the profit increase in the first half of 2005. In the first half of 2004, EBIT had still been impacted by goodwill amortization in the amount of 188 million euros. For the full year 2005, overall net profit will rise by over 500 million euros. “We want to include our shareholders in this positive development through our dividend payout for 2005. For the current business year, we plan to pay a dividend that is at least one third higher than in 2004,” said Chief Financial Officer Edgar Ernst. Based on yesterday’s share price, this corresponds to a dividend yield after taxes of 3.3 percent. Measures implemented under the STAR value creation program contributed 261 million euros to earnings during the first six months, compared to 178 million euros in the prior-year period. Since its launch in November 2002, the program has generated an accumulated 1.123 billion euros, a figure that is expected to rise to at least 1.4 billion euros by year-end. MAIL Corporate Division In the first six months of 2005, revenue in the MAIL Division rose by 1 percent to 6.4 billion euros, with increasing international volumes compensating for the anticipated revenue declines in Germany. The international mail business today contributes 16 percent to divisional revenue, compared to 12 percent in 2004. Profit from operating activities (EBIT) in MAIL declined by 5.2 percent to 1.1 billion euros. EXPRESS Corporate Division In the first half of 2005, revenue in the EXPRESS Division increased by 1.8 percent to 8.8 billion euros, making EXPRESS the Group’s strongest revenue driver and accounting for 40 percent of overall revenue. EBIT rose from 10 million euros to 163 million euros, largely attributable to the absence of goodwill amortization. The company made considerable progress in the Americas region in the first half of 2005, including improvement in delivery quality to 97 percent in the USA. “Our customers are recognizing the better service quality in the USA, a fact reflected in rising revenue and improved profits,” said Zumwinkel. As previously communicated, the Group anticipates the Americas region to incur a loss of as much as 300 million euros for the full year, with break-even expected in the fourth quarter of 2006. Return on sales for the Express business outside the Americas region was 5.5 percent, with a return on sales of 1.9 percent for the division as a whole. LOGISTICS Corporate Division Revenue in the LOGISTICS Division (airfreight, ocean freight and contract logistics) increased by 11.8 percent to around 3.6 billion euros in the first half of 2005. This is attributable to the positive organic growth of the two business divisions DHL Danzas Air & Ocean and DHL Solutions and the acquisition of KarstadtQuelle AG’s department store logistics on April 1, 2005. EBIT almost doubled to 122 million euros from 66 million euros in the prior-year period. FINANCIAL SERVICES Corporate Division The FINANCIAL SERVICES Division includes Postbank, the Pension Service and the retail outlets. Postbank presented its results separately on July 27, 2005. In the first six months of 2005, the division generated 3.5 billion euros in revenue, 3 percent less than in the prior-year period, caused by continued low interest rate level. EBIT rose by 15.2 percent to 379 million euros. Outlook The company confirmed its expectation of reaching an operating profit of at least 3.6 billion euros for 2005 overall. For MAIL, the Group as before expects EBIT for the year to stabilize at around 2 billion euros. Operating earnings for EXPRESS, including the Americas region, are expected to double over the prior-year figure of 367 million euros. The company is confident that LOGISTICS will continue to grow and exceed the prior-year earnings of 281 million euros by 5 to 10 percent. In FINANCIAL SERVICES, the Group anticipates a 5 to 10 percent increase in earnings for the full year, compared to the 2004 figure of 692 million euros. End of announcement (c)DGAP 28.07.2005 —————————————————————————— WKN: 555200; ISIN: DE0005552004; Index: DAX Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart; EUREX 280729 Jul 05