Swiss Post profit falls by CHF35 million 

PostalNetwork also recorded further losses due to the decline in transactions at post office counters KEYSTONE/©KEYSTONE/ PETER SCHNEIDER

Largely due to a drop in letter and parcel volumes, Swiss Post’s group profit fell from CHF295 million ($335 million) in 2022 to CHF254 million last year.  

The Swiss Post branch PostalNetwork also recorded further losses due to the decline in transactions at post office counters.  

Inflation, depressed consumer confidence and the decline in core business also played a role, as was reported to the media in Bern on Thursday. At CHF323 million, operating profit (EBIT) was CHF35 million lower than the previous year.  

Operating revenue in 2023 totalled CHF7,279 million (2022: CHF6,859 million), in line with expectations.   

Fewer parcels and letters  

In Swiss Post’s Logistics Services division, earnings before interest and tax fell by CHF23 million to CHF335 million. Despite declining parcel volumes (down 4.6% compared to 2022), growth is expected here in the long term. Swiss Post customers are sending around 70% more parcels than ten years ago, which led to the organisation opening new parcel sorting locations last year. 

+Swiss Post wants to save CHF42 million

Letter volumes fell by 5.6% year-on-year to 1,647 million as the advertising market, heavily dependent on the economy, was unable to escape negative consumer sentiment. Addressed advertising mail fell by 5.3% and unaddressed advertising by 6.4%. 

18% less over-the-counter payments  

PostalNetwork saw an operating loss of CHF93 million, compared to -CHF71 million in 2022. 2023 saw a sharp decline of more than 18%, particularly in over-the-counter payments. Overall, transactions have fallen by almost 50% in the last five years.  

At CHF21 million, the result for mobility services (PostAuto and Post Company Cars) in 2023 was CHF6 million lower than the previous year as the increase in passenger numbers at PostAuto was unable to offset the simultaneous rise in personnel and fuel costs. Demand at PostAuto has increased and exceeded pre-pandemic levels (up 4.2% on 2019).  

The operating income of Swiss Post’s Communication Services was the same as in the previous year, with a loss of CHF72 million, according to the company’s statement, an area it said was still being developed. However, operating income rose by CHF84 million in 2022 to CHF157 million, which it said was primarily as a result of strategic acquisitions in e-government, secure customer communication and cybersecurity. 

Positive impact of interest rates 

PostFinance, its second-largest subsidiary, saw the positive impact of interest rate turnaround last year and achieved a higher operating income, generating a good 15% higher operating profit at CHF264 million (2022: CHF229 million), while operating revenue increased by a good quarter to CHF1.96 billion in 2023.  

Compared to the end of 2022, however, customer assets fell by a good 0.5 billion to CHF104.1 billion. The financial arm of the business had a total of 2.47 million customers at the end of September. 

Swiss Post must adapt  

Chair of the board of directors, Christian Levrat and CEO Roberto Cirillo went on to emphasise that Swiss Post must adapt to changing customer needs.  

To fulfil its mandate, Swiss Post needs “more freedom”, said Levrat. In view of the current challenges, particularly in digitalisation, he said that measures had been taken to develop initial responses. “But that’s not enough,” said the former senator, who also touched on topics including electronic identification, electronic patient dossiers and e-voting. 

Adapted from German by DeepL/kp/amva 

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