2021 was the first year of Swiss Post’s new four-year strategy period. And it was the second year in which it experienced the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Encouragingly, Swiss Post has recovered faster than expected from the financial impact of the pandemic. With Group profit of 457 million francs, its result was up 279 million francs year-on-year. Compared to 2019, the year before the pandemic, the result has stabilized.
In 2021, Swiss Post coped with the challenges of the pandemic successfully and dependably, whether it be the enormous parcel volumes in day-to-day operations, serving at the Swiss Post branches or working behind the wheel of a Postbus. Swiss Post’s financial result for the year is also positive: at 515 million francs, operating profit (EBIT) is up 257 million francs year-on-year. Group profit for 2021 totals 457 million francs, up 279 million francs over 2020, the first year of the pandemic. Because of the extremely negative impact of the pandemic in 2020, there is more to be gained from a comparison with the year 2019 (in other words, before the pandemic): operating profit in 2021 is up 65 million francs on the figure for 2019. Swiss Post CEO Roberto Cirillo sums up the situation as follows: “I’m very pleased with the first year of the new strategy period. We have successfully consolidated our logistics for parcels and letters. We have developed and acquired important digital skills for SMEs, public authorities and the healthcare sector. We have kept our promise to stabilize the number of our self-operated branches at around 800. And we were named the world’s best postal service for the fifth time. Our very good financial result offers further reassurance that we are on the right track.”
Swiss Post proved able to cushion the financial impact of the pandemic in 2021. This quick recovery was possible thanks to its flexibility and positive developments in various business units: at 18 million francs in 2021, the result generated by the Mobility Services unit (PostBus / Post Company Cars) is 81 million francs higher year-on-year. The main reason for the increase is that the Confederation and cantons will compensate PostBus for its revenue losses in regional transport resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, rail replacement services also improved the PostBus result. In 2021, PostalNetwork also increased its operating result by 33 million francs compared to the previous year (EBIT: −68 million francs). The decline in traditional over-the-counter transactions at Swiss Post branches continued last year. However, thanks to targeted modifications to the branch network and consistent efficiency improvements, the PostalNetwork unit more than offset these further losses in over-the-counter transactions in 2021. Head of Finance Alex Glanzmann explains: “Swiss Post has recovered faster than expected from the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. However, the pressure on Swiss Post’s core business has not gone anywhere. We must continue to make targeted investments in the things that Switzerland’s people and businesses need, both now and in the future.”
PostFinance achieved an operating profit of 272 million francs, up 110 million francs year-on-year. Last year, PostFinance introduced the new PostFinance App, launched the digital banking app Yuh in conjunction with Swissquote and, as in previous years, reinforced its investment business with new digital investment solutions. Thanks to this strategic approach and the banking packages introduced in 2021, PostFinance achieved an improvement in its result from commission business and services. The trend in trading portfolio assets was also positive. Interest income on financial assets continued to decline due to market conditions. This decline was not fully offset by PostFinance, despite increased activity in the interbank market and higher customer asset fees.
In the logistics business, Swiss Post achieved a stable result of 465 million francs last year (−5 million francs compared to 2020). Due to booming online retail and the lockdown at the beginning of 2021, parcel volumes again rose by almost 10 percent. Thanks to a combination of this trend and company acquisitions across the range of its core business, the Logistics Services unit increased its revenue by 127 million francs last year. However, rising parcel volumes also result in significantly higher costs in the Human Resources and Transport units. And they require Swiss Post to invest heavily in its infrastructure, increasing operating expenses in the logistics segment by 132 million francs year-on-year. The volume of letters again declined by more than three percent last year. However, thanks to growth in the parcels segment, acquisitions and consistent cost management, Swiss Post almost offset the further decline in earnings from letters last year.
Alex GlanzmannHead of FinanceAt the end of the strategy period, we aim to be generating profit through digital communication services.
In 2021, the operating result for the newly created Communication Services unit stood at –80 million francs. Swiss Post has been building up this unit since the beginning of last year with a view to providing SMEs, public authorities, the healthcare sector and not least the people of Switzerland with digital postal services in the future. These services will be simple and secure and will offer an alternative to services from foreign corporations and companies with a purely commercial focus. This requires the development of new digital skills, which Swiss Post is also securing through the acquisition of selected specialized companies − for example, in cloud security, electronic identification, SME digitization and software for municipalities. These investments led to a negative financial result at the Communication Services unit in 2021 and will also do so in the coming years, a scenario in line with expectations. Head of Finance Alex Glanzmann explains: “This unit’s result is expected to improve continuously in the coming years. At the end of the strategy period, we aim to be generating profit through digital communication services.”
Despite the positive annual result, the challenges in Swiss Post’s core business remain unchanged: the negative interest rate environment at PostFinance, declining numbers of over-the-counter transactions and a further decline in letter volumes coinciding with a rise in parcel volumes. As in previous years, the rising parcel volumes alone cannot compensate for the decline in profit due to falling letter volumes. In addition, processing and delivery of the enormous parcel volumes pose a major challenge for staff, and hence for Swiss Post as a whole. Investments of around 1.5 billion francs in infrastructure are envisaged in the logistics segment by 2030. In order to survive in the market, Swiss Post must also achieve targeted growth in its core business and become digitized. Roberto Cirillo stresses: “The debate about Swiss Post and competition is not always based on the facts. For years, Swiss Post has been generating well over 80 percent of its income in open and fierce competition with other companies. However, Swiss Post also wants to do justice to the important role it plays in the Swiss economy, especially for SMEs. That’s why we want to invest – including in digital skills. This is in line with the requirements of people and businesses in Switzerland. In the long term, it is the only way we can guarantee the Swiss public service throughout all parts of the country without relying on taxpayers’ money.”
More information on the result in theRead more about the strategy:
Interview with Christian Levrat and Roberto Cirillo The Swiss Post of tomorrow