Left: Tone Wille, group CEO of Posten Norge
Norway’s national postal operator Posten Norge has reported third quarter (Q3) earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of Nkr157m (US$19.2m), a decline of Nkr2m (US$244,000) when compared with the same quarter the year before.
The post has said that it currently faces challenging market conditions with a progressive decline in mail volumes and a weak logistics market. As such, Posten Norge reported Q3 operating revenues of Nkr5.9bn (US$720m), a decrease of 1.8% when compared with Q3 in 2015.
For the first nine months of the year the post achieved operating revenues of Nkr18.3bn (US$2.2bn), which is on par with 2015. So far this year EBIT has been Nkr378m (US$46.2m), a decline of Nkr94m (US$11.5m) compared with the same period last year.
Tone Wille, group CEO of Posten Norge, said, “The group is now experiencing a strong decline in mail volumes. We have covered much of the decline in revenue with major cost-saving measures in 2016, but we will need to implement further measures to adapt to developments.
“Significant cost-saving measures have been implemented to adapt operations to the weaker market. We believe that many of the measures now taken will have a positive effect on the group’s operating result. To strengthen competitiveness in the long term, we are making a significant investment in a new logistics network with 18 terminals in Norway.”
In the first nine months of the year, addressed mail volumes fell by 11.7% in Norway, while the annual decline in recent years has been between 5% and 8%.
The logistics segment had an EBIT of Nkr53m (US$6.5m) in Q3, Nkr35m (US$4.3m) lower than the same quarter last year. For the year so far, EBIT for the logistics division has been Nkr31m (US$3.8m), a decline of Nkr84m (US$10.3m) compared with the same period last year.
November 2, 2016
