attributed to the Letter Mail & Business Solutions business, 26.2 % to Direct 
Mail and 9.8 % to Media Post. 
 
At EUR 781.8m, the revenue in the Letter Mail & Business Solutions business fell 
short of the prior-year's level by 4.2 %. The declining volume trend resulting 
from the substitution of letters by electronic forms of communication continued. 
In particular, the revenue was down due to the lockdown measures and the 
economic restrictions on public offices and companies. Volume development 
stabilised again towards the end of 2020, after declining considerably in the 
second quarter, but remains dominated by what are currently difficult framework 
conditions. Positive effects from elections are included both in the current 
reporting period and in the previous year, although the election effects in 2019 
were significantly higher pronounced. Further, letter mail products and prices 
were adjusted on 1 April 2020, with a positive impact on revenues. Compared to 
the same period of the previous year, international letter mail achieved a 
positive trend while the Business Solutions segment faced a slight decrease. 
Revenues in the Direct Mail segment fell by 13.7 % to EUR 320.9m in the 2020 
financial year. In the second quarter of 2020, the impact of the business 
closures imposed by the authorities in response to COVID-19 left a particular 
mark on the direct mail business. Currently, visibility is limited, as further 
official lockdown measures are difficult to predict. The cyclical nature of 
revenue development points towards volatile direct mail business. 
The revenue from Media Post, i.e. the delivery of newspapers and magazines, fell 
by 9.1 % year-on-year to EUR 120.0m. This decline is also predominantly due to 
the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
Revenue in the Parcel & Logistics Division increased by 44.4 % from EUR 632.5m 
to EUR 913.6m in the 2020 financial year. Among other things, this strong growth 
in the parcel business is based on the positive development due to the ongoing 
trend towards e-commerce in Austria. Despite the internal delivery service of a 
major customer in eastern Austria, Austrian Post was able to continue benefiting 
from market growth in this reporting period.The environment is still one of 
intense competition and considerable price pressure. The total parcel volume in 
Austria increased by around 30 % in 2020. The uncertainties and restrictions 
facing retail shops in the wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic are fuelling an 
ongoing boom in online retail. Cooperation with Deutsche Post DHL Group in 
Austria, which was launched in August 2019, has also made a considerable 
contribution to the current growth. In addition, the revenue reported by the 
Turkish subsidiary Aras Kargo, which has been included in the consolidated 
financial statements as a fully consolidated company since 25 August 2020, 
amounted to EUR 101.5m. 
The development towards faster delivery of parcels can be observed as a clear 
trend. In total, 62.2 % of the division's revenue in the 2020 financial year was 
generated in the Premium Parcels segment (delivery on the working day after 
posting). This implies an increase of 60.9 % to EUR 568.0m. The Standard Parcels 
segment accounted for 30.0 % of total revenue for the division. In 2020, this 
segment recorded a 26.0 % increase in revenues to EUR 274.0m. The Other Parcel 
Services segment, which comprises various additional logistics services and 
accounts for 7.8 % of divisional revenue, generated EUR 71.5m in revenue in the 
reporting period, implying an increase of 15.3 %. 
Regional analysis shows that in 2020, 73.2 % of divisional revenue was generated 
in Austria, with an increase of 29.9 % compared to the same period of the 
previous year. 26.8 % of revenue was generated by the international business of 
the subsidiaries in Southeast and Eastern Europe and Turkey. In this highly 
competitive region, revenue grew in excess of 100 % in the reporting period, 
driven by increased parcel volumes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
Revenue in the Retail & Bank Division came to EUR 64.7m in the 2020 financial 
year, compared to EUR 80.5m in the previous year. Branch Services in 2019 
included service fees from the former banking partner amounting to EUR 29.3m. In 
the current reporting period, Branch Services (retail goods and branch products) 
amounted to EUR 44.8m, with a positive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the 
sections of packaging materials and stationery. In the revenue reported 
Financial Services Earnings of EUR 19.8m in 2020 also included cash payments for 
third parties (e.g. pensions). bank99 was launched on 1 April 2020 and had 
already more than 60,000 customers by the end of the year. 
 
EARNINGS DEVELOPMENT 
 
The structure of expenses of Austrian Post is characterised by a high share of 
staff costs. Accordingly, 49.7 % of total operating expenses in 2020 were 
accounted for staff costs. The second largest expense item, which constituted 
28.5 % of operating expenses, was raw materials, consumables and services used, 
a large part of which related to outsourced transport services. Furthermore, 
15.0 % could be attributed to other operating expenses and 6.8 % to 
depreciation, amortisation and impairment losses. Year-on-year comparability of 
single income statement items is limited due to the full consolidation of the 
Turkish company Aras Kargo with effect from 25 August 2020. 
 
Staff costs in the 2020 financial year amounted to EUR 1,041.4m, up by 6.6 % or 
EUR 64.7m. On a comparable basis, i.e. excluding Aras Kargo, staff costs were up 
by 4.5 % or EUR 43.6m in a year-on-year comparison. Operational staff costs 
increased compared to the same period of the previous year due to the full 
consolidation of the Turkish company Aras Kargo as well as additional expenses 
for the growing parcel business. The Austrian Post Group had an average of 
22,966 employees (full-time equivalents) in 2020, compared to an average of 
20,338 employees in the same period of the previous year (+12.9 %). In addition 
to operational staff costs, staff costs of Austrian Post generally also include 
various non-operating expenses such as severance payments and changes in 
provisions, which can be attributed primarily to the specific employment 
situation of civil servant employees. The non-operating staff costs for 2020 
required only a small amount of provisions. A positive effect was recorded in 
the previous year due to the reversal of provisions. 
 
Raw materials, consumables and services used increased by 20.3 % to EUR 596.2m. 
On a comparable basis, i.e. excluding Aras Kargo, the cost of materials was up 
by 9.4 % or EUR 46.4m on the previous year's level. The increase is mainly due 
to higher transport expenses as a result of the huge parcel volumes and higher 
sales commission. 
 
Other operating income fell by 51.2 % to EUR 64.1m in 2020. Both other operating 
income and other operating expenses were significantly higher in the prior-year 
period. In the 2019 reporting period, credited recovery claims from non-wage 
labour costs paid in previous periods in the amount of EUR 58.0m were included 
in other operating income (recovery of contributions from the payroll of civil 
servants). Other operating expenses fell by 13.0 % to EUR 314.4m. On a 
comparable basis, i.e. excluding Aras Kargo, other operating expenses were down 
by 15.5 % or EUR 55.9m on the previous year's level. The reporting period also 
included initial expenses for setting up the infrastructure for the new bank99. 
 
EBITDA amounted to EUR 302.8m, 5.0 % below the previous year's EUR 318.7m due to 
negative effects associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. This equals to an EBITDA 
margin of 13.8 %. Depreciation, amortisation and impairment losses in the 
reporting period totalled EUR 142.2m, compared with EUR 118.1m in 2019. 
Depreciation and amortisation increased primarily as a result of the 
commissioning of new locations for our parcel logistics infrastructure, while 
impairment losses of EUR 2.3m were up only slightly on the previous year's level 
of EUR 1.7m. Reported EBIT fell from EUR 200.6m to EUR 160.6m in the 2020 
financial year. EBIT margin amounted to 7.3 %. EBIT for logistics business 
(excl. Retail & Bank Division) reached a level of EUR 204.4m in 2020, resulting 
in an EBIT margin of 9.6 %. 
 
The Group's financial result of EUR 1.4m was EUR 9.3m lower than in 2019, mainly 
due to the recognition of interest income from recovery claims from non-wage 
labour costs paid in previous periods in the 2019 financial year. After 
deducting income tax of EUR 46.8m, the profit for the period therefore came to 
EUR 115.3m (-20.2 %). Basic earnings per share were EUR 1.75 compared to EUR 
2.17 in the same period of the previous year. 
 
 
EARNINGS BY DIVISON 
 
The result for the 2020 financial year of EUR 160.6m (-19.9 %) was negatively 
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and initial set-up costs for the new bank99. 
The good parcel business and the full consolidation of the Turkish company Aras 
Kargo had a positive effect. EBIT for logistics business (excl. Retail & Bank 
Division) amounted to EUR 204.4m in the 2020 financial year. 
 
In terms of divisional result, the Mail Division achieved an EBIT of EUR 164.4m 
in 2020. The 16.4 % year-on-year decline is a direct result of the loss of 
revenue from the letter mail and direct mail business due to the COVID-19 
pandemic. Due to the high amount of fixed costs in the letter mail business, the 
decline in revenue has a strong impact on earnings. The product and price 
adjustments made in the letter mail business as at 1 April 2020 had a positive 
effect. Comprehensive provisions for data protection procedures were also 
recognised in the previous year. 
 
The Parcel & Logistics Division achieved revenue growth against the backdrop of 
intense competition and margin pressure, generating an EBIT of EUR 73.5m in 
2020. This is almost twice the amount (+94.5 %) reported in the previous year. 
The full consolidation of the Turkish company Aras Kargo as at 25 August 2020

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March 12, 2021 01:30 ET (06:30 GMT)