Poste Italiane, the profit for the semester rises to 1.1 billion. Del Fante: “Solid and diversified business”

MILAN – Poste Italiane closed its accounts for the first half of 2023 with a net profit up 16% to 1.1 billion: the result accelerated in the second quarter with an annual increase of 22%, to 601 million. It is a “strong growth”, highlights the company, which “takes advantage of the diversified business model”.

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In the first six months of the year, the operating result marks “a new record”, improving by 10.5% to 1.6 billion (+9.9% in the quarter) “with a positive contribution from mail, parcels and distribution, financial services and payments and mobile”, and revenues are in “significant growth”: +8.3% to 6.1 billion (+8.5% in the quarter).

Commenting on the data, CEO Matteo Del Fante remarked “a solid quarterly performance and closed the first half of the year in a very positive way, with substantial growth in revenues and profitability compared to the same period of 2022”. The manager remarked that the group is “proactively adapting to a constantly evolving macroeconomic context” and that “the continuous positive net inflow from savings and investment products confirms the trust placed in Poste Italiane”.

In the historical heart of the group – the Mail, Parcels and Distribution sector – “revenues remain resilient, thanks to repricing actions and a favorable product mix in mail, growth in parcel volumes and favorable commercial trends in distribution revenues”.

Just yesterday, Monday July 24th, they were triggered postage rate hikes, authorized by Agcom, to recover from inflation: for priority mail you will pay 10 cents more, while for ordinary mail the rate for items up to 20 grams rises from 1.20 to 1.25 euros. For ordinary, judicial and “from you” registered letters, you will pay 5.80 euros, with an increase of 20 cents. For inclusive judicial documents, changes will be made in all weight brackets.

Going back to the quarterly report, Del Fante once again remarked that “in financial services we achieved higher revenues, on a recurring basis, in all business lines. In insurance services, we recorded constant positive net inflows in a declining market and a relatively low surrender rate, well below the market level. The Non-Life insurance sector has grown and now benefits from the acquisition of Net Insurance, which allows us to accelerate in the protection business. Payments and Mobile continues its path of significant revenue growth, thanks to the positive results in all business lines and the consolidation of LIS, thus becoming the business unit with the highest contribution to the growth of the Group’s top line. The PosteEnergia offer is operational and to date has reached around 300,000 signed contracts”.

In essence, concluded the manager, “our balance sheet remains solid, with a net financial position that improves year on year and stable capital ratios, which for the future offer us flexibility on the remuneration of our shareholders. We are working on our new strategic plan, which we will present in the coming months, in order to have all the growth drivers in place for the years to come. There will be a focus on restructuring our logistics business and revamping our service model, putting the customer first. We are transforming Poste Italiane into an increasingly digital and customer-centric company, an operationally efficient company, with a clear path to profitable growth. I continue to see a bright future for Poste Italiane.”