DHL 2015 Annual Report Download - page 66

Deutsche Post  Group —  Annual Report
As part of our banking policy, we spread our business volume widely and maintain
long-term relationships with the nancial institutions we entrust with our business. In
addition to credit lines, we meet our borrowing requirements through other independ-
ent sources of nancing, such as bonds and operating leases. Most debt is taken out
centrally in order to leverage economies of scale and specialisation benets and hence
minimise borrowing costs.
No bonds were issued or redeemed in the reporting year. Further information on
the existing bonds is contained in the Notes.
Group issues sureties, letters of comfort and guarantees
Deutsche Post  provides security for the loan agreements, leases and supplier con-
tracts entered into by Group companies, associates or joint ventures by issuing letters
of comfort, sureties or guarantees as needed. is practice allows better conditions to
be negotiated locally. e sureties are provided and monitored centrally.
No change in the Group’s credit rating
e ratings of “” issued by Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) and “+” issued
by Fitch Ratings (Fitch) remain in eect with regard to our credit quality. e stable
outlook from both rating agencies is also still applicable. We remain well positioned in
the transport and logistics sector with these ratings. e following table shows the rat-
ings as at the reporting date and the underlying factors. e complete and current
analyses by the rating agencies and the rating categories can be found on our website.
Agency ratings .
Fitch Ratings
Long-term:  +
Short-term:  
Outlook: stable
Rating factors
• Balanced business risk profile.
• Stable contribution of core mail products.
• Growth in internet-led domestic parcel
volumes.
• Strong global footprint in the Express,
Global Forwarding, Freight and Supply Chain
businesses.
• Fairly stable credit metrics for the current
rating and adequate financial flexibility.
Rating factors
• Structural mail volume decline in the Post -
eCommerce - Parcel division due to secular
changes in the industry (i. e. competition
from electronic communication and
digitalisation).
• Exposure to global market volatility and
competitiveness through the  divisions.
Moody’s Investors Service
Long-term:  
Short-term:  – 
Outlook: stable
Rating factors
• Scale and global presence as the world’s
largest logistics company.
• Large and robust mail business in Germany.
• Success in restoring profitability levels atthe
logistics activities and its mail business.
• Moderate financial metrics, conservative
financial policy and sound liquidity profile.
Rating factors
• Exposure to global macroeconomic trends in
the logistics businesses.
• Structural decline of traditional postal
services.
Note 
dpdhl.com/en/investors
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