Earnings Release • Jan 21, 2021
Earnings Release
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PostNL today released preliminary results, which were positively impacted by the lockdown in the Netherlands starting mid-December. As a result, operational performance accelerated further. PostNL has delivered a record level of 337 million parcels in 2020, of which around 25 million are estimated to be nonrecurring and related to Covid-19. At the same time, Mail in the Netherlands realised an exceptional performance in the last weeks of the year as more greeting cards and single items were sent during the lockdown. Total revenue is expected to amount to around €3,250 million in 2020. FY 2020 normalised EBIT is expected to come in at around €240 million, strongly outperforming previous guidance, with a very strong free cash flow of around €185 million.
Herna Verhagen, CEO of PostNL, commented: "For society at large and PostNL, 2020 qualifies as an exceptional year in unprecedented circumstances. Thanks to the hard work of our people and the resilience of our business, we were able to play a vital role in society. At all times, we put health and safety for our people and consumers first. Our results were driven by a very strong business performance both at Parcels and at Mail in the Netherlands. These are exceptional results, which deserve an exceptional recognition. Following the strong Q4 results, we will increase the performance-related compensation to reward our people for all their efforts. We will also reward the people working for our sorting and delivery partners of Parcels in the Netherlands with an extra payment. Our improved and strong financial position also allows us to re-instate dividend for 2020, as previously announced."
At Parcels, volume growth in Q4 2020 amounted to 29.6% (FY 2020: 19.2%). PostNL delivered 337 million parcels in 2020, of which around 25 million parcels are estimated to be non-recurring as they are related to Covid-19. The favourable price/mix developments continued in the fourth quarter are coupled with positive impacts from yield measures. Its flexible infrastructure, combined with more equally spread flow, shows the robustness of the business model in this exceptional situation. Good performance at both Spring and Logistics continued. Normalised EBIT for Q4 2020 is expected to amount to €75 million, up €35 million compared with Q4 2019 (FY 2020: €209 million, of which around €40 million qualifies as exceptional driven by Covid-19).
At Mail in the Netherlands, volume decline in Q4 was 0.2% (FY 2020: 9.6%). Normal substitution was almost fully offset by a recovery in direct mail and more greeting cards. The latter resulted in a more favourable price/mix development that is not expected to recur. The consolidation of Sandd contributed positively to the result. As no further integration costs occurred in Q4 2020, the effect of synergies is now fully visible. Normalised EBIT for Q4 2020 is expected to come in at around €82 million, up €67 million compared with Q4 2019 (FY 2020: €96 million, of which around €15 million is qualified as exceptional driven by Covid-19).
Free cash flow amounted to around €185 million in 2020. This was supported by the extraordinary business performance and by strict capital allocation actions, such as the pension agreement, strict working capital management, the sale-and-lease back transaction and further de-risking of PostNL's portfolio through the divestures of Nexive, PCS, Spotta and Adeptiv. Excluding the payment on transitional pension obligations (€200 million) as well as the proceeds of the sale-and-lease back transaction (€146 million), free cash flow would be around €240 million.
The improved financial position allows PostNL to re-instate dividend for 2020, to be proposed to shareholders at the AGM 2021. The basis for dividend, i.e. normalised comprehensive income, is expected to come in at around €195 million for 2020.
Due to the continued unprecedented circumstances, visibility going forward remains limited. While the lockdown continues into the beginning of 2021, leading to ongoing strong parcel volumes but also additional costs, among others to keep retail points open. PostNL assumes that the impact of Covid-19 will gradually fade out in 2021. Based on the preliminary results for 2020 and current assumptions, PostNL expects:
PostNL will continue to invest in its network to be able to accommodate future e-commerce growth. In addition, PostNL will accelerate the digitalisation of its activities.
More details of the Digital Next program will be presented on 1 March 2021. On that date, PostNL will publish its Q4/FY 2020 results with an outlook for 2021, including the financial implications of Digital Next. All figures mentioned in this press release are unaudited.
This press release contains inside information within the meaning of article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.
| Published by | PostNL N.V. Prinses Beatrixlaan 23 2595 AK The Hague The Netherlands |
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| Investor Relations Media Relations |
T: +31 88 86 86 161 Jochem van de Laarschot Director Communications & Investor Relations M: +31 613 86 53 58 E: [email protected] |
Inge Laudy Manager Investor Relations M: +31 610 51 96 70 E: [email protected] |
On 21 January 2021, at 11.00 am CET, a conference call for analysts will start. It can be followed live via an audio webcast at https://www.postnl.nl/en/about-postnl/investors/results-reports-presentations/.
Additional information is available at www.postnl.nl. This press release contains inside information within the meaning of article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.
Note that the numbers presented in this press release (tables and result explanations) may not sum precisely to the totals provided and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures due to rounding.
Some statements in this press release are 'forward-looking statements'. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may occur in the future. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are outside of our control and impossible to predict, and may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, analyses and projections about the industries in which we operate and management's beliefs and assumptions about possible future events. You are cautioned not to put undue
Q4 2020 Preliminary results | Page 2 of 3
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which only apply as of the date of this press release and are neither predictions nor guarantees of possible future events or circumstances. We do not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities law.
In presenting and discussing the PostNL Group operating results, management uses certain non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be viewed in isolation as alternatives to the equivalent IFRS measures and should be used in conjunction with the most directly comparable IFRS measures. Non-GAAP financial measures do not have a standardised meaning under IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. The main non-GAAP key financial performance indicator is normalised EBIT. Normalised EBIT is derived from the IFRS-based performance measure operating income adjusted for the impact of project costs and incidentals.
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