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Deutsche Post World Net Annual Report 2007
Making costs more fl exible
In recent years, we have made our network costs more exible, allowing us to adjust
them rapidly in response to volume changes. To this end, we have come up with a
detailed range of measures. Amongst the requirements are a decrease in the number
of mail cargo ights at night and a reduction in outsourced operations, such as trans-
port by lorry. State-of-the-art IT systems enable us to more accurately predict the
order intake and optimise capacity utilisation according to tra c volumes. We have
also further increased the exibility of our sta costs in the past two years.
Revenue and earnings performance
Since the start of the nancial year, we have been reporting on the Parcel Ger-
many unit in the MAIL Division; the prior-year gures were restated accordingly.
e division once again increased its revenues in , pushing them up by . from
, million to , million. e fourth quarter, which is traditionally strong,
contributed much to this development. We counterbalanced the anticipated decline
in domestic mail by growing our business abroad, largely thanks to the rst-time in-
clusion of Williams Lea with e ect from April . As in the past, currency e ects
were marginal in the reporting period. ey pushed down revenue by million.
Declining volumes in domestic mail business
Revenue in the Mail Communication Business Unit declined from , million
to , million. e decrease was less pronounced in the fourth quarter than in
the rst three, even though parameters remained unchanged. e increasing use of
electronic means of communication is resulting in ongoing shrinkage of the market,
whilst at the same time competition is becoming more intense. Volumes fell in both
the business and the private customer segments because, amongst other things, the
period was . working days shorter than in .
“We are capable of exploiting our opportunities in the international
mail business and are favourably positioned in mail markets abroad.
The greatest challenge currently lies in the inconsistent timetable for
liberalisation within the European Union.”
Dr Frank Appel, MAIL International