Japan Post
Japan Post Group released its third-quarter financial statements on February 12, with consolidated operating income of 870.05 billion yen, a decrease of 35.4 billion yen from the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 3.9%; thanks to the year-on-year growth of Postal Savings Bank of China and Jianbao Life Insurance, the group's consolidated operating profit was 70.88 billion yen, an increase of 19.9 billion yen from the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 2.9%; net profit was 390 billion yen, a decrease of 31.9 billion yen from the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 7.6%. Due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, the amount of mail handled by the post office has decreased, resulting in a significant reduction in the profits of Japan Post. Along with the improper sales issues of Jianbao Life Insurance, new insurance contracts continued to be sluggish and performance declined.
The number of new contracts for Jianbao Life Insurance has dropped significantly, by about 90%. Although the business restrictions imposed due to the improper sales issue were lifted in October last year, performance continued to be sluggish due to restrictions on active sales activities. At the same time, due to the "demand to stay at home", Japan Post has seen an increase in postal parcels delivered by express delivery companies, and its logistics business has been smooth, but it cannot make up for the sluggish postal business. The financial statements of Japan Post Group's three main business subsidiaries are as follows:
In terms of recurring income on a consolidated basis, Japan Post's recurring income was 290.85 billion yen, a decrease of 23.5 billion yen from the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 0.8%; Postal Savings Bank of China was 131.37 billion yen, a decrease of 44.7 billion yen from the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 3.2%; and Jane Life Insurance was 512.73 billion yen, a decrease of 33.42 billion yen from the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 6.1%.
In terms of operating profit, Japan Post was 115.6 billion yen, a decrease of 37.5 billion yen from the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 24.5%; Postal Bank was 313.9 billion yen, an increase of 24.6 billion yen from the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 8.5%; and Jane Life Insurance was 260.8 billion yen, an increase of 26.9 billion yen from the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 11.5%.
In terms of net profit, Japan Post was 80.7 billion yen, a decrease of 55.1 billion yen from the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 40.6%; Postal Savings Bank of China was 226.3 billion yen, an increase of 16.2 billion yen from the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 7.7%; and Jane Life Insurance was 129 billion yen, an increase of 14 billion yen from the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 12.2%.
At an online financial results press conference held on the same day, Japan Post's Executive Director Tomonori Asai said, "Although operating results continue to decline in revenue and profits, net profit for this period has recovered to nearly 90% of the same period last year. Compared with the quarterly performance forecasts, the three major subsidiaries are relatively stable, and the group's overall performance has now exceeded the full-year forecast. However, if the impact of the unprecedented new coronavirus epidemic is prolonged, such as the extension of the state of emergency, and the opaque situation continues, it will be necessary to continue to pay attention to changes in the domestic and international environment.
Deutsche Post
DHL and Volvo Trucks have teamed up to accelerate the introduction of heavy-duty electric trucks for regional transport in Europe. This joint effort marks an important step towards climate-neutral transport solutions. So far, the main use of electric trucks has been short-distance driving within cities and urban areas. Now DHL and Volvo Trucks have launched a project focusing on long-distance, heavy-duty transport. The collaboration includes the world’s first exclusive pilot test of the Volvo FH all-electric truck with a gross vehicle weight of up to 60 tonnes.
Starting in March, the truck will operate between two DHL freight logistics terminals in Sweden, a one-way distance of approximately 150 kilometers. During the trial, Volvo and DHL will gain important experience and information on setting up and operating an adequate charging infrastructure. The information collected will help optimize the right balance between operating distances, load weights and charging points in daily road freight operations.
DHL's goal is to reduce all logistics-related carbon emissions to zero. Some important milestones have already been achieved towards this goal: DHL has improved its CO2 emissions efficiency by 35% compared to 2007. This is all the result of innovative technological solutions and strong partnerships.
British Post
Royal Mail has announced that it is building a new parcel centre in central England as it accelerates its transformation to “focus on developing international parcel business while consolidating the domestic letter business market”. The new centre, scheduled to open in 2019, will be the size of 10 football pitches and will be able to handle more than 1 million pieces of mail a day, making it the largest parcel centre for the UK Post and a significant investment in its business in the Midlands. In addition to being equipped with a state-of-the-art automated parcel sorting system, the hub will also provide a vehicle operations centre, new fleet staff facilities and an interchange terminal with rail links to ensure efficient and sustainable growth in mail delivery volumes.
The UK Post's parcel volume increased by 51% in the first half of the year, showing strong performance, driven by the online shopping trend further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and social restrictions. Simon Thompson, CEO of UK Post, said: "Our business is accelerating and this modern parcel center in the Midlands will enable us to seize market opportunities and continue to provide high-quality services to more than 31 million customers across the country." The ergonomically designed high-speed sorting system not only means faster parcel processing, but also supports the execution of work processes in a safer way than ever before, effectively improving the safety factor of on-site operations. UK Post has also positioned itself at the forefront of operational efficiency and ergonomics.
