Austrian Post Sees Significant Growth in 2024

The year 2024 has been very successful for the Austrian Post overall. This is set against a challenging economic environment characterized by weak economic conditions, which dampened the investment climate for companies and also led to cautious purchasing behavior among private households. However, positive impulses came from the increasing use of postal voting in Austria – particularly during the National Council and European elections.

(Wien) Online retail also showed revenue increases, allowing the Austrian Post to deliver more than 500 million packages for the first time in 2024 across Austria, Southeast and Eastern Europe, as well as Turkey and Azerbaijan. “The Austrian Post was able to achieve double-digit revenue growth in the past financial year, thus defying the weak economic environment and inflation as well as tough competition,” says Walter Oblin, the General Director of the Austrian Post. “We see ourselves strategically well-positioned. The transformation from the steadily declining letter business to the growing parcel business and thus to more internationalization is progressing well,” Oblin continued.

The revenue of the postal group increased by +13.9% in 2024 to 3,123.1 million EUR. Even excluding revenue from Turkey, the revenue increase was 9.2%. All divisions recorded an increase over the past year. The revenue of the Letter & Advertising Mail division rose by 4.1% to 1,239.8 million EUR and is characterized by a structural decline in addressed letter volumes of 6% due to electronic substitution. Positive effects were seen from the tariff adjustments effective September 1, 2023, as well as the super election year 2024. In the advertising mail sector, a weak economic environment with a structural decline in certain customer segments (e.g., furniture trade, mail order) was noticeable. The Parcel & Logistics division generated a revenue increase of 20.9% to 1,712.5 million EUR during the reporting period. The parcel business developed very positively in all regions. Particularly in Turkey, a strong revenue growth was recorded, influenced by high inflation and the exchange rate of the Turkish Lira. Even excluding the parcel business in Turkey, revenue increased by 12.7%. The Branch & Bank division achieved a revenue of 201.5 million EUR in 2024 (+19.5%). The increase in customers of bank99 and the development of the interest rate landscape in the past financial year positively contributed to the division’s revenue.

Attractive Dividend of 1.83 EUR

The Austrian Post also recorded a very successful year in terms of results. EBITDA increased by 8.0% to 422.7 million EUR, and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose by 9.0% to 207.3 million EUR. The net income for 2024 was 145.9 million EUR (+5.2%). This results in earnings per share of 2.04 EUR compared to 1.96 EUR in the previous year (+4.1%). Based on the solid performance and balance sheet position, an attractive dividend of 1.83 EUR per share is proposed to the Annual General Meeting on April 9, 2025 (+2.8%). This corresponds to a payout ratio of 85% of the net income and a dividend yield of 6.4% based on the closing price on December 31, 2024.

The fundamental trends in the European letter and parcel markets have been stable for years and are expected to continue in the future: The growth of parcel volumes, driven by increased national and international e-commerce orders, continues to contrast with a continuous decline in addressed and unaddressed letter and advertising volumes. These developments occur against the backdrop of a market environment with improved, but still weak economic growth in many European countries. After the strong revenue increase of 13.9% in 2024, which was supported by positive one-off effects, a consolidation is expected for 2025. The goal of the Austrian Post for 2025 is to achieve slight revenue growth, provided there is a certain continuity in the development of the Turkish Lira. Revenue growth combined with cost discipline is necessary to ensure the desired stability of the Austrian Post. This also keeps the targeted goal of achieving an EBIT of around 200 million EUR in 2025 intact.

Growing Markets in Southeast and Eastern Europe

The need for investment will shift in the coming years, focusing on the growing markets of Southeast and Eastern Europe as well as Turkey. The total capital requirement (CAPEX) for 2025 is expected to be in line with the range of recent years. In addition to replacement investments, international growth investments and investments for the decarbonization of logistics will be prioritized. The Austrian Post continues to aim to combine growth and dividend strength. The operational cash flow should continue to ensure the necessary base investments as well as an attractive dividend policy.

Photo: © Austrian Post