Swiss Post earned a profit of 193 million francs up to mid-2019, 25 million francs lower than in the prior-year period. The operating profit (EBIT) of 269 million francs was also down, falling by 19 million francs in comparison to the first half of 2018. The lower interest income achieved by PostFinance and falling letter volumes are putting Swiss Post’s result under further pressure. As a result of increasing parcel volumes, Swiss Post is also required to invest considerable sums of money in parcel processing by PostLogistics.

Other sources of income required

Despite the diminished result, Swiss Post nonetheless still has a good financial basis. However, the sources of income from the most profitable Swiss Post units – PostMail and PostFinance – are threatening to evaporate. In light of these developments, Swiss Post has reassessed its financial situation until 2030 with a number of different scenarios. “The result shows that Swiss Post needs new sources of income to be able to continue funding the universal service from its own resources and without taxpayers’ money,” says Alex Glanzmann, Head of Finance at Swiss Post. “If there is no change, Swiss Post will no longer be able to finance the universal service itself in the medium term,” he explains. Swiss Post wants to continue paying for the universal service itself in the future. To this end, it requires a balanced regulatory framework, with the obligations of Swiss Post as a public service company on the one hand and a certain entrepreneurial scope on the other to ensure that Swiss Post remains competitive and able to generate the necessary resources to finance the universal service in the first place. 

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Press release