DHL 2009 Annual Report Download - page 77

Lower volumes in Asia Pacifi c
Including exchange rate gains of   million, revenue in the Asia Paci c region
decreased by .  to  , million (previous year:  , million). Revenue declined
organically by . , mainly attributable to lower fuel surcharge revenues and the lower
volumes resulting from the economic downturn.  is  gure has been adjusted for cur-
rency e ects and acquisitions, particularly in the domestic Chinese express business
and in Australia. Daily shipment volumes in  in the  and  product lines
were slightly below the previous year’s level.  e trend in the fourth quarter reversed
for these products as well, with  and  volumes rising year-on-year.
Domestic volumes remain steady in the emerging markets
In the  region (Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa), revenue de-
creased by . , from  , million in  to  , million in .  is  gure
contains exchange rate losses of   million.  e revenue decline amounted to .  in
local currencies. Whilst daily shipment volumes for  faded in line with the economy
in the reporting year, domestic volumes in  remained stable year-on-year boosted
by business growth in the Middle East and Africa.
Strict cost management refl ected in earnings performance
 e prior-year  gures for pro t from operating activities  were adjusted be-
cause we no longer report the return on plan assets in connection with pension ob-
ligations as part of . It is now reported under the Group’s net  nance costs / net
 nancial income.
 e division’s  improved in the year under review, rising by .  to –
million for full-year  (previous year: –, million) and by .  to – mil-
lion for the fourth quarter (previous year: –, million). Adjusted for restructuring
costs ( , million; fourth quarter:   million),  in  was   million
(previous year:   million) and   million in the fourth quarter (previous year:
  million), up   million year-on-year.
 e restructuring of our business is continuing to make progress, resulting in an
encouraging improvement in earnings despite the poor economic climate. In the Unit-
ed States in particular, we were able to sharply reduce our loss before non-recurring
items.  earnings for the year as a whole were in line with projections. In the fourth
quarter, we largely achieved our goal of reducing the annualised loss in the  to less
than     million.
Outside the ,  before non-recurring items decreased from  , million
to   million due to a decline in international and domestic shipment volumes. We
were able to compensate for this trend in part through strict cost management.
We improved payment terms with our suppliers and customers via consistent
working capital management. However, the costs for restructuring the  business
o set the improvements in  before non-recurring items, in working capital and
through lower capital expenditure.
Operating cash  ow, which includes net cash used for restructuring and the losses
in the , fell accordingly year-on-year from   million to – million.
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