Adjusted operating profit amounted to NOK 291 million, an improvement of NOK 165 million. Both the logistics and mail segments saw an upturn in profits.

CEO Tone Wille looks positively on the trend for the Group as a whole.

"Healthy growth and improved profitability characterise the trend in the logistics segment in the third quarter. We are growing with existing customers and winning new ones. At the same time, the postal service is adapting to a digital age. In this way, we are contributing to sustainable development and realising the Group's strategy,” says Wille.

Posten Norway is preparing for its largest ever reorganisation when mail delivery is reduced to every other day from 1 July 2020, in line with the amendments to the Postal Act passed by the Storting (the Norwegian parliament) in June.

Logistics segment

Adjusted operating profit for the Logistics segment was NOK 213 million in the third quarter of 2019, an improvement of NOK 126 million compared with the same period last year. Revenue in the third quarter increased by NOK 251 million, to NOK 4 493 million. Organic growth was 5.1 per cent.

"In Norway we have taken new steps to develop the distribution network of the future with optional delivery points, both outside and inside the home. This fall, we began offering delivery inside the home with digital door locks, across Norway. The pace of innovation is high, and I am proud that Posten Norge was named Norway's most innovative company in 2019 by InnoMag magazine," says CEO Tone Wille.

In Sweden the Group is working on expanding Bring's parcel network. This is expected to provide improved growth and more customers. There was solid growth in e-commerce for consumers, corporate parcels and home delivery, both in and outside Norway. E-commerce volume increased by 19 per cent over the past 12 months.

Mail segment

Adjusted operating profit for the Mail segment was NOK 132 million in the third quarter, an increase of NOK 56 million compared with the same period in 2018. Significant cost adjustments were made in operations which largely compensated for the sharp decline in addressed mail volumes. Mail volumes decreased by 10.8 per cent over the past 12 months.

In the third quarter, 92 per cent of addressed mail was delivered within two days, well above the 85 per cent requirement. So far this year, the proportion of letter mail delivered within two days was 91.4 per cent.

HSE

Sickness absence for the Group was 5.5 per cent in the third quarter, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points compared with the third quarter of 2018. Sickness absence for the last 12 months was 5.9 per cent, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points compared with a year ago.

The Group's focus on systematic HSE activities has produced positive results. Injury and sickness absence levels have both decreased significantly in recent years.

Source: Posten Norge