Revenue at Deutsche Post DHL Group grew by 1.8% to €61.6 billion in 2018 though EBIT was affected by restructuring the Post – eCommerce – Parcel (PeP) division.
The growth in revenue was driven by the ongoing boom in e-commerce as well as growth in international trade flows.
By division, PeP revenue increased by 1.7% to €18.4 billion, Express by 7.3% to €16.1 billion, Global Forwarding by 3.4% to €14.9 billion and Supply Chain was down 5.7% to 13.3 billion.
Operating profit measured in earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) decreased by 15.5% to €3.7 billion with PeP down 56.4% to €656 million and Supply Chain by 6.3% to €520 million.
Express EBIT was up 12.7% to €1.7 billion and Freight Forwarding increased by 48.8% to €442 million.
Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL Group says: “2018 was a challenging year for Deutsche Post DHL Group, which we closed with a successful Christmas business. Despite rising geopolitical uncertainties, global trade continued to register growth. This benefitted our DHL divisions in particular. In our German post and parcel business, we initiated measures to secure the division’s long-term EBIT growth – and we consciously accept that this comes with a short-term burden on EBIT.”
€2.6 billion was spent on investments across all divisions, including the Express sector upgrading its hubs in Brussels, Madrid and Hong Kong, as well as modernising the aircraft fleet.
Deutsche Post DHL Group is projecting an increase in operating profit to €3.9-4.3 billion in 2019 with structural and operating improvements in all division expected to contribute to the increase.