Norway Post's earnings before non-recurring items and write-downs for the first half-year 2009 were higher than those for the same period in 2008 and ended at NOK 381 million. Electronic substitution and the economic downturn had a negative effect on revenues, however extensive efficiency measures and cost cuts led to an improvement in earnings.
Operating revenues for the first half-year came to NOK 13.8 billion, compared to NOK 14.1 billion for the same period in 2008. Less activity in the market and the transition to electronic alternatives to letters and banking services had a negative effect on the Group's revenues. Compared with last year, revenues were positively affected by an income of NOK 259 million for government purchases of unprofitable services.
Spinnaker produced results
Norway Post's earnings before non-recurring items and write-downs increased by NOK 70 million. The effects of the
Spinnaker
programme more than compensated for the decline in income due to the fall in volumes.
«It's good to see that the efficiency programme is delivering as expected and has produced increased earnings in a year of economic downturn,» says Dag Mejdell, the CEO of Posten Norge AS.
Sensitive to economic conditions
It is not only the economic downturn that is challenging Norway Post's development. Physical mail is structurally
affected
by the technological developments involving a transition to electronic solutions such as e-mail, e-invoices and online banking.
These are permanent changes in customer needs. In order to compensate for declining volumes, Norway Post implemented the Spinnaker
profitability programme in 2008.
To further compensate for the financial crisis and weak economic developments, Norway Post has implemented several measures to cut costs and adapt its resources to the activity level in the market.
«Logistics, Mail and IT are sensitive to the economic conditions and a good measure of the temperature of the economy. After a sharp fall in volume during the first half-year, the level of activity has now stabilised at a lower level,» says Mr Mejdell.
Improvement in quality
The efficiency measures are also having a positive effect on quality. In the second quarter of this year, 89.6 per cent
of
A mail was delivered overnight. This is the best result ever and well above the licence requirement of 85 per cent.
«It is particularly gratifying to register that the improvement measures are producing good results for our customers. We've managed to improve the delivery quality while also improving the efficiency of our operations,» says Mr Mejdell.
The other five licence requirements were also met by a good margin in the first and second quarters.