DHL 2004 Annual Report Download - page 76

The European Commission’s request for information also includes questions re-
lating to the sale by the German federal government of its entire interest in Deutsche
Postbank AG to Deutsche Post AG on January 1, 1999. However, the European Commis-
sion had already investigated the allegation of a sale at below market price as part of the
state aid proceedings that were concluded with the ruling dated June 19, 2002. At the
time, it explicitly concluded that “the acquisition of Postbank involved no grant of state
aid”.
The German government submitted its reply to the questions raised in the request
for information to the European Commission on time, arguing that the allegations are
unfounded in its opinion. Nevertheless, with regard to both allegations relating to the
request for information, no assurance can be given that the European Commission will
not find that the facts of the case constitute state aid.
On January 21, 2004, the European Commission issued a state aid ruling on the
assumption by the Belgian government of pension obligations owed by the Belgian tele-
communications company Belgacom to employees. Some press releases reported that the
European Commission would consider applying the state aid principles of this decision
to Deutsche Post AG if the European Courts grant Deutsche Post AG’s appeal against the
European Commission’s state aid ruling dated June 19, 2002. According to these press
releases, this could result in a substantial financial burden for Deutsche Post AG.
However, the European Commission has not confirmed these reports. In addition,
it is our opinion that the facts of the case governing the ruling of January 21, 2004, differ
from the statutory regulation of Deutsche Post AG’s pension obligations. We believe that
the arrangements for financing pension obligations do not constitute state aid by the
Federal Republic of Germany, based on the European Commission’s previous decisions.
It should also be noted in this matter that the European Commission examined in detail
the contributions by the Federal Republic to finance pensions within the scope of the
state aid proceedings that have already been concluded, and did not establish any illegal
aid in its decision of June 19, 2002. In this respect, Deutsche Post AG therefore claims
pro tection under the principle of legitimate expectations. Nevertheless, no assurance can
be given that the European Commission will not find that the facts of the case constitute
state aid.
Preventive response to infrastructure risks
We opened our new IT center in Prague in September 2004, thus completing the physical
consolidation of DHL’s global IT infrastructure. It now covers all time zones from its
three locations in Prague, Kuala Lumpur and Scottsdale, USA, and so can offer round-
the-clock IT services. However, this focus means a higher susceptibility to business inter-
ruptions, such as natural disasters or human error. We employ an internally developed IT
risk management system in this area. It guards against potential failures and reduces
their impact through a variety of preventive measures.
Concentrating the locations also means an increase in the demands made on net-
work services. We are investing heavily in new, high-performance software in order to be
able to guarantee short system response times. We aim to avoid delays and unexpected
cost increases with the help of dedicated project management.
We attempt to avoid business interruptions at key operational locations by system-
atically monitoring our sophisticated conveyor and sorting systems. We also take a large
number of precautions, for example in the area of fire protection. If damage were none-
theless to occur, we could significantly reduce the financial effects of any potential inter-
ruption to business thanks to our emergency and contingency plans.
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