Your browser version is not updated, please update it.

Poste Italiane: robust Q3-20 results with net profit at €353m, +10.3% y/y (interim results)- Q3-20 EBIT at €479m (+4.2% y/y), confirming a resilient business model across all segments.
- Interim dividend of €0.162 (+5% y/y) on 2020 results.
- Parcel & distribution revenues offsetting mail decline.
- Commercial activities upswing in financial and insurance. 
- TFAS record increase YTD with €9.8bn retail net inflows.
- Steady increase in payments and mobile revenues.

Rome, 12 Nov 2020 06:30

  • Q3-20 REVENUES AT €2.6BN, +0.8% Y/Y (-5.2% 9M/9M TO €7.7BN IN 9M-20) WITH COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES BACK ON TRACK:
    • Q3-20 MAIL, PARCEL & DISTRIBUTION REVENUES AT €779M, -2.7% Y/Y (-11.9% 9M/9M AT €2.3BN IN 9M-20) WITH PARCEL REVENUES ALMOST FULLY COMPENSATING MAIL DECLINE;
    • Q3-20 PAYMENTS & MOBILE REVENUES AT €185M, +8.2% Y/Y (+9.5% 9M/9M AT €522M IN 9M-20) GAINING FURTHER MOMENTUM FROM ENLARGED SCOPE OF USAGE IN PAYMENTS AND TELCO GROWING CUSTOMER BASE;
    • Q3-20 FINANCIAL SERVICES REVENUES AT €1.2BN, -0.1% Y/Y (-3.4% 9M/9M AT €3.7BN IN 9M-20) WITH FOCUSSED POSTAL SAVINGS DISTRIBUTION;
    • Q3-20 INSURANCE SERVICES REVENUES AT €454M, +7.1% Y/Y (-2.2% 9M/9M AT €1.2BN IN 9M-20) WITH INCREASING GROSS AND NET INFLOWS.
  • Q3-20 COSTS STABLE AT €2.1BN, +0.1% Y/Y (-1.8% 9M/9M AT €6.4BN IN 9M-20); COSTS DOWN IN THE QUARTER EXCLUDING €28M EMERGENCY ONE-OFF AND €43M BUSINESS DRIVEN COSTS;
  • Q3-20 EBIT AT €479M, +4.2% Y/Y (-19.2% 9M/9M AT €1.2BN IN 9M-20). Q3-20 EBIT AT €507M (+10% Y/Y), NET OF ONE-OFF COSTS TO FACE THE EMERGENCY;
  • Q3-20 NET PROFIT AT €353M, +10.3% Y/Y (-17.1% 9M/9M AT €898M IN 9M-20);
  • TFAs UP €20.3BN YEAR-TO-DATE TO €556BN IN SEPTEMBER THANKS TO STRONG RETAIL NET INFLOWS OF €9.8BN, CONFIRMING CUSTOMERS’ TRUST.
 
 
Q3 & 9M 2020 Group Financial Highlights
  • Revenues back to a growing trajectory: Q3-20 at €2.6bn (+0.8% y/y) and 9M-20 at €7.7bn (-5.2% 9m/9m);
  • Total Operating Costs in Q3-20: HR Costs at €1.2bn (-3.4% y/y) supported by lower FTEs; Non-HR Costs at €801m (+€51m y/y) down €20m excluding one-off costs to face the emergency and higher business-driven costs in parcels and telco due to accelerating key trends;
  • EBIT at €479m in Q3-20 (+4.2% y/y) and at €1,244m in 9M-20 (-19.2% 9m/9m). Significant improvement in Q3-20, +10% y/y to €507m (€1,325m at 9M-20), net of one-off costs to face the emergency;
  • Total Financial Assets (TFAs) at €556bn (€+20.3bn vs December 2019) with net inflows of €11.2bn and positive market effect of €9.1bn;
  • Solid capital position: BancoPosta CET1 ratio at 17.5% and Poste Vita Group Solvency II Ratio at 250%.
 
Q3 & 9M 2020 Operational Segment Highlights
  • Mail, Parcel & Distribution: Monthly mail volumes decline slowing down since June as a result of resuming delivery of recorded and direct marketing mail. Parcel volumes increasing across all products with almost 20m parcels delivered by Postini (+41% y/y) in the quarter and 53m delivered in 9M-20. New automated parcel sorting hub operational in Rome from November and one in northern Italy to be fully operational by Q1-21.
  • Payments & Mobile: Surge in Poste Italiane cards usage for digital payments, with a broader activity on Poste’s digital channels, growing e-commerce transactions and contactless payments; growing telco services thanks to an enlarged customer base.
  • Financial Services: Renewed commercial focus on resuming network sales activity with postal savings distribution in strong momentum coupled with dedicated commercial campaigns.
  • Insurance Services:  Continued expansion of life products offer, with the launch of new policies aimed at satisfying changing customer needs and characterized by capital-light structures. Strong P&C products, with modular offer fully operational and ranking second in the non-motor bancassurance P&C market. €0.9bn higher gross written premiums year-on-year and net inflows at €1.9bn in the quarter, with a commercial focus across the network.
 
IN UNCERTAIN TIMES, POSTE ITALIANE CONFIRMS ITS ROLE OF SYSTEMIC PLAYER IN ITALY. THE EXPERIENCE GAINED FROM THE FIRST WAVE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS MADE POSTE ALREADY PREPARED, TO ENSURE BUSINESS CONTINUITY WITH THE HIGHEST SAFETY STANDARDS.
STRATEGIC EXECUTION PRIORITIES
  • Building a stronger company for the present and future scenarios
  • Remain committed to serving clients, protecting employees and supporting communities
  • Strengthen leadership in B2C and grow in B2B
  • Stabilize investment portfolio contribution to P&L in an ultra-low-for-longer interest rate environment with a resilient mix of interest income and capital gains
  • Accelerate in remote customer engagement, for advisory and sale of financial and insurance products as part of the digital transformation programme
  • Reinforce focus on digital and contactless payments through cross-selling between mobile and payments solutions
  • Cost discipline as a lever to flexibly adapt to a challenging market environment
  • Demonstrate financial strength and ongoing commitment to sustain long-term operating profitability
  • Enhance the distribution platform with investments, partnerships and new commercial initiatives
 
POSTE ITALIANE’S SOCIAL ROLE STRENGTHENED
  • Silver Class Badge awarded in 2020 Lundquist .trust research report (Bronze Class in 2019), for Italian Blue Chip companies presenting coherent, interlinked sustainability and business strategies, in particular for the effectiveness of COVID-19 communication to all stakeholders;
  • MSCI upgraded Poste Italiane’s ESG rating from ‘BBB’ to ‘A’, having adopted, in its Group policies standards, important provisions on human rights, subscribed to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and the Women Empowerment Principles (WEP) along with awards for the responsible management of its investments and climate strategy;
  • TGPoste launched: a daily Poste Italiane television news programme broadcast on-line and across post offices. The daily 15-minute bulletin features national and international news, interviews with staff on a wide-range of Poste Italiane related topics and experts on general interest matters.
 
Rome, 12 November 2020, yesterday, the Board of Directors of Poste Italiane S.p.A. (“Poste Italiane” or the “Group”), chaired by Maria Bianca Farina, approved 9M 2020 Financial Results (unaudited).
 
Matteo Del Fante, Poste Italiane Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, commented:
 
“This quarter has shown clear signs of recovery, confirming the resilience of our business model across all segments. Third quarter EBIT was up 4.2%, net of one-off costs put in place to face this unforeseen emergency, grew an impressive 10% year on year. This result is even more striking if you bear in mind that 2019 was a record year. Our strategy has proved a right one and helped us to successfully weather these challenging times.
Since the beginning of this testing year, Italians have clearly demonstrated their trust and loyalty in Poste Italiane across all the distribution channels, with a steady increase in multi-channel and third-party-network transactions. We have been able to enrich our distribution platform with an additional network (digital and third party channels) which is managing now almost one third of transactions currently performed by our post offices.
Our strong customer base has also enabled us to achieve record retail net inflows of €9.8 billion in the nine months of 2020, contributing to reach €556 billion Total Financial Assets.
The valuable experiences learnt during the first Covid-19 wave, successfully addressing the emergency and rapidly adapting to key trends, have once again highlighted our business’ resilience. We are more than ever prepared for the second wave, confirming our role as the Italian systemic player.
Underlying operational activity is healthy and our attention to cost discipline offers us further flexibility addressing potential revenue headwinds. The group’s digital strategy and effective corporate re-organisation are key enablers of the successful implementation of our plan. In particular, we have centralized our digital transformation and technological operations into a single unit, acting as the key business enabler in Digital, Technology and Operations.
Our solid business results and fortress capital position allow us to confirm our 2020 dividend policy, with the distribution in November of an interim dividend, embedding the yearly growth of 5% outlined in Deliver 2022.
Let me thank once again all our people for their tireless work in these last months.”
 
***

POSTE ITALIANE Q3 & 9M 2020 Results

Thursday 12 November 2020 - 14:30 CET

 

To attend the event click here:

Poste Italiane Q3 & 9M 2020 Results Webcast

 

A listen only audio conference is also available:

+39 02 8020927 (Listen-only, Italy)           

  

To see the press release in full version download pdf

 

For further information:
 
Poste Italiane S.p.A. Investor Relations         
Tel. +39 06 5958 4716                                   
      
 
Poste Italiane S.p.A. Media Relations
Tel. +39 06 5958 2097