Turkka Kuusisto, President and CEO (Interim)

Financially we had a good third quarter in 2019; we improved both our net sales and adjusted operating result compared to the previous year third quarter. We have made good progress during the last 12 months in modifying our cost structure and at the same time being able to create new growth. This shows that our chosen strategy is working and that our long-term efforts have also reflected positively in our financial results so far.

Overall during the third quarter, the proportional share of Postal Services revenue continued to decline, and the Parcel and eCommerce and Logistics Solutions share continued to increase over 50%.

For postal companies where the traditional postal business is in decline, the cost structure development is key for maintaining profitability. We have made good progress in developing our cost structure both in our operations as well as in our administration during the year. It is imperative for our company’s future that we continue to modify our cost structure ahead of the volume decline in our postal business.

Our Parcel and eCommerce business’s strong growth continued during the third quarter. The labor union actions concerning the negotiations on the collective agreement did have an impact on the last month of the quarter, but the quarter-result was still good. We have had strong sales development in our Parcel and eCommerce business during the year.

The Logistics Solutions business continued to grow in the third quarter. The growth is attributable to the Transval acquisition earlier in the year. We also made good progress during the third quarter in improving our profitability in all our logistics businesses.

However, a significant portion of Posti’s annual results is made during the fourth quarter, in the Christmas period. It is very important for us to jointly with our customers have a successful Christmas season. During the fourth quarter we will need to improve our quality and focus on good customer experience. The negotiations on the collective agreement of Posti employees are still going on and any possible labor union actions could have a significant impact on the annual results for Posti.

Posti is going through a historic transformation. I am well aware that the pace of the change and the effects of the transformation are not always easy for our personnel. Therefore, I would like to thank our personnel for its great work and commitment, especially in the challenging circumstances of recent months.

Finally, I would like to thank Heikki Malinen for his extensive contribution to driving Posti’s renewal over the last seven years. Our good Q3/2019 financial results are one indicator of his great work to ensure that Posti remains profitable and seeks new growth. Together with Posti’s skilled team, we will continue to renew the company and seek future growth.

Key Figures

Source: Posti Group