Poste Italiane: 2Q & 1H19 Results (interim result)Yesterday, the Board of Directors of Poste Italiane S.p.A. (“Poste Italiane” or the “Group”) chaired by Maria Bianca Farina approved First Half 2019 Financial Results.

• NET PROFIT AT €324M IN 2Q19 (+30% Y/Y) AND €763M IN 1H19 (+4% H/H). ADJUSTED NET PROFIT AT €339M IN 2Q19 (+29% Y/Y) AND €570M IN 1H19 (+18% H/H)
• CONTINUED REVENUE GROWTH IN 2Q19 WITH POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ALL SEGMENTS DRIVEN BY COMMERCIAL FOCUS
• ROBUST PARCEL REVENUES SUPPORTED BY INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION, OFFSETTING MAIL DECLINE
• STRONG PERFORMANCE IN INSURANCE, SOLVENCY II RATIO IN LINE WITH MANAGEMENT AMBITIONS THROUGH THE CYCLE
• ONGOING COST DISCIPLINE ALONG WITH CAPEX DEPLOYMENT TO SUPPORT DELIVER 2022
• CONTINUED DELIVERY OF PLAN COMMITMENTS LEVERAGING A UNIQULEY DIVERSIFIED BUSINESS MODEL
• ALL 2019 GUIDANCE CONFIRMED – INTRODUCING AN INTERIM DIVIDEND POLICY ON FY2019 RESULTS

 

1H19 Group Financial Highlights

• Revenues at €5,521m (+1.7% h/h); adjusted revenues¹ at €5,242m (+4.5% h/h) demonstrating solid capacity to generate recurring revenues
• Total Operating Costs at €4,441m (+1% h/h) in line with plan; lower FTEs more than offset 2017 agreed salary increase while value added per FTE rises
• EBIT at €1,081m (+2.6% h/h); adjusted EBIT² increased by €123m to €825m (+17.6% h/h) fully on track with 2019 guidance
• Total Financial Assets (TFA) at €530bn (+ €16.1bn from December 2018) driven by positive net inflows and market performance: deposits up €6.4bn benefitting from Public Administration and PostePay accounts; insurance net inflows up €2.4bn supported by multiclass offering; mutual funds up €224m
• PosteVita Group Solvency II Ratio at 242% as of June 2019 (March 2019: 214%): earnings, improved financial markets and managerial actions more than offset the impact of lower interest rates
• Group Capex at €230m (+52.6% h/h) well on track with 2019 guidance; focus on Mail & Parcel sorting and automation technology to drive industrial transformation

2Q19 Segment Financial Highlights

• Mail, Parcel & Distribution: Revenues at €875m (+1.5% y/y); parcel revenues up 12% with B2C up 22.6%; mail revenues down 1.5% with a slower decline in volumes in Q219 and re-pricing actions in July 2018; EBIT at -€67m, improving by 15.7% (adjusted EBIT improved 29.6% to -€57m)
• Payments, Mobile & Digital: Revenues at €167m (+11.2% y/y), thanks to increased card and transaction volumes; telecom revenues resilient due to improved commercial offer; EBIT up 22.3% to €54m also benefitting from positive non-recurring cost items
• Financial Services: Revenues at €1,180m (+0.6% y/y); third party loan and mortgage distribution fees increasing as a result of growing volumes; asset management fees up with positive net inflows; EBIT up 2.6% to €174m
• Insurance Services: Revenues at €458m (+26.9% y/y) supported by Life and P&C growth; Life revenues up 28% supported by multiclass products at €1.5bn net inflows and higher financial margin taking advantage of positive market conditions; P&C revenues up 20% thanks to all product lines. EBIT up 40.2% to €303m

2Q19 Segment Operational Highlights

• Mail, Parcel & Distribution: the Joint Delivery Model has exceeded 80% of target; new parcel sorting hub in Bologna inaugurated on 16 July with full capacity of 250,000 parcels/day; 3,500 alternative delivery locations now operational beyond post offices as part of the PuntoPoste network; Mistral Air now exclusively transporting mail and parcels following full restructuring
• Payments, Mobile & Digital: Increasing card stock and transactions driving strong revenue growth. Positive impact from Postepay Connect integrated offer with over 1.2k average daily sales; “other payments” volumes down in line with the trend embedded in Deliver 2022
• Financial Services: Third party loan and mortgage distribution revenues up thanks to higher volumes; postal savings on track and positive inflows from mutual funds; visible and sustainable distribution revenues supported by our unrivalled network
• Insurance Services: Ongoing diversification with positive contributions from both Life and P&C businesses; successful results from new multiclass products with €1.5bn net inflows in 2Q19

Rome, 31 July 2019, yesterday, the Board of Directors of Poste Italiane S.p.A. (“Poste Italiane” or the “Group”) chaired by Maria Bianca Farina approved First Half 2019 Financial Results.
 
Commenting on the results, Matteo Del Fante, Poste Italiane Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, said: “Our second quarter results are a further milestone on our Deliver 2022 journey. All business segments positively contributed to revenue growth while we continue to reduce our reliance on capital gains.
Poste Italiane benefits from a uniquely diversified business model, made up of four different but highly complementary segments. The Deliver 2022 industrial transformation initiated over a year ago is providing solid progression in operational profitability. This began with financial services last year, while our insurance services business is leading the way in the first half of the year.
Given increased visibility on 2019, we confirm our targets for the full year.
In line with market best practise, we have decided to introduce an interim dividend policy and are taking all necessary steps enable payment to our shareholders in the fourth quarter.
Growing parcel revenues continue to offset mail decline, supported by our industrial transformation and our focus on customer experience. This makes us a key partner in Italy to leading e-commerce players, as witnessed by our exclusive agreement with Zalando and the strengthened partnership with Amazon now testing same day delivery in selected Italian cities.
Our continued cost discipline is balanced by an effective capital expenditure plan, as demonstrated by our investment in the state-of-the-art parcel sorting hub in Bologna inaugurated on 16 July.
Our enhanced commercial focus drives our trusted relationship with our 35 million customers which is supported by our commitment, through initiatives like Piccoli Comuni.³
With 1.9m daily digital users, Poste Italiane’s offer is underpinned by our continued investment in both core IT infrastructure and the integration of new technologies for the benefit of our customers.”
 

 

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¹ Excluding capital gains and IFRS 9 impact of Visa      

² Excl. capital gains, IFRS 9 impact on Visa, early retirement incentives, capital losses, hedging Visa derivatives, FV change and real estate funds provisions

³ Piccoli Comuni is a proactive partnership to reinforcing Poste’s role in local communities. For further details on the initiatives please refer to: https://www.posteitaliane.it/piccoli-comuni

 

 

2Q19 and 1H19 RESULTS

Wednesday 31 July 2019 – 11:30am CEST
 

WEBCAST

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CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS

Italy: +39 06 8750 0896 (Conference ID: 6842128)
 

To see the press release in full version download pdf.
 

For more information:
Poste Italiane S.p.A. Investor Relations
Tel. +39 06 5958 4716
Mail:  investor.relations@posteitaliane.it
 
Poste Italiane S.p.A. Media Relations
Tel. +39 06 5958 2097
Mail:  ufficiostampa@posteitaliane.it