Post boss: “We have to talk about the prices”
Postal business was hit by record high inflation and declining letter and parcel volumes. This has consequences for consumers.
The year brought a number of unexpected factors into play with the aftermath of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Post boss Roberto Cirillo.
Photo: Christophe Bott (Keystone)
Swiss Post reported a consolidated profit of CHF 295 million last year. That is CHF 157 million less than in 2021. The war in Ukraine also influenced the result.
The result is below the strong previous year, but continues to strengthen the balance sheet of the Post, announced on Thursday. The operating result (EBIT) amounted to CHF 358 million. Additional costs due to record high inflation, lower income due to the turnaround in interest rates and the decline in letter and parcel volumes therefore hit Swiss Post’s business.
The year brought a number of unexpected factors into play with the aftermath of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Both the parcel and letter volumes fell by around four percent compared to the previous year. The decline in parcel volumes has to do with depressed and very volatile consumer sentiment. This has fallen noticeably since the outbreak of the Ukraine war.
Post boss Roberto Cirillo therefore expects that 2023 will be “financially one of the most difficult years in recent company history”. Cirillo said at the annual media conference in Bern that he was expecting “record high inflation” and rising costs for energy and materials.
The Post boss identifies two measures with which the yellow giant can cushion the rising costs: one is explosive from the consumer’s point of view. Price increases are in the air. Cirillo left it open for which services, to what extent and from what point in time this should take place. In addition, he wants to further improve the efficiency of the state enterprise.
With material from the SDA
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