DHL 2011 Annual Report Download - page 70

 e global market volume for outbound international mail was approximately
 . billion in  (previous year, adjusted on account of new   gures:  . bil-
lion).  e market is growing because the economy is recovering from the crisis and more
heavy items are being shipped instead of simple letters. Despite increasing competition,
we were able to grow with the market and maintain our share of . .
REVENUE AND EARNINGS PERFORMANCE
Revenue slightly above prior year on fewer working days
As at  July , we transferred the Home Delivery business in Germany from the
  division to the  division. We report on this service for deliveries to
both private and business customer addresses as part of our Parcel Germany business
unit.
 rough the third quarter of , part of the reduction in revenue resulting from
customer discounts was recognised under materials expense rather than revenue.  e
prior-year  gures were adjusted.
In the year under review, revenue was  , million, slightly above the prior year’s
 gure of  , million despite the fact that the number of working days was down by
..  e fourth quarter contained . working days fewer than the same period in the
prior year.
Since  July , we have been required to apply  to revenues generated from
business customers. In order to retain this key customer group, we increased our gradu-
ated discount scale, which lowered our revenue. We encountered negative currency
e ects of   million in the year .
Number of business customer letters stable
In the Mail Communication business unit, we delivered the same volume of letters
on behalf of our business customers as we did in the prior year.  e fact that there were
. fewer working days was only noticeable in the fourth quarter. Revenue in  nancial
year  declined from  , million to  , million on account of the increased
discounts. Even though we retained and won quality-conscious customers, some of our
price-sensitive customers turned to competitors.
In the regulated mail sector, we kept prices stable as dictated by the price-cap
procedure. According to a comparative study that we conducted, our postage rates still
rank amongst the lowest in Europe.  e survey accounted for both the nominal price for
sending a standard letter ( g) by the fastest method and key macroeconomic factors
such as purchasing power and labour costs.
. Mail Communication: volumes
mail items (millions)
2010 2011 + / – % Q4 2010 Q4 2011 + / – %
Business customer letters 6,566 6,564 0.0 1,742 1,697 –2.6
Private customer letters 1,260 1,245 –1.2 378 362 – 4.2
Total 7,826 7,809 – 0.2 2,120 2,059 –2.9
Glossary, page 
Deutsche Post DHL Annual Report 
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