Subprime crisis hits earnings at Deutsche Post
May 14, 2008
German logistics group Deutsche Post reported a wider-than-expected 18.4 percent drop in first quarter earnings on Wednesday as turbulence on financial markets hit earnings at its Postbank banking unit.
The fall in net profit to 407 million euros (629 million dollars) -- analysts polled by Thomson Financial News had forecast 455 million euros -- was also due to the period having two less working days, a statement said.
Operating income for the first three months fell 14.7 percent to 851 million euros, while revenues grew 1.8 percent to 15.7 billion euros. The weak dollar and pound helped shave more than four percentage points off revenue growth.
As reported on May 8, turbulence in financial markets stemming from the collapse of the US subprime mortgage market led to operating profit falling by more than a fifth at Postbank in the first three months of the year.
Deutsche Post said it was sticking to its target of operating income before one-off items of around 4.2 billion euros for the whole of 2008, and of 4.7 billion euros for 2009.