=------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide 
  distribution. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement. 
=------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 
Quarterly Report 
 
Vienna, 12 May 2021 - 
 
 
COVID-19 and lockdowns reinforce general trends 
 
* Positive parcel development in Austria, CEE/SEE and Turkey; mail business 
  negatively impacted 
* Parcel volumes up by 33.5 % in Austria, +39 % in South East and Eastern 
  Europe, +37 % in Turkey 
* Letter mail volumes -6 %, direct mail -8.5 % 
 
 
Q1 revenue increase of 28.5 % (+12.0 % organic growth) to EUR 646.1m 
 
* Structural change: Mail Division and Parcel & Logistics Division now have the 
  same size 
* Mail -2.1 % to EUR 311.0m 
* Parcel & Logistics +85.5 % to EUR 323.7m 
* Retail & Bank +27.3 % to EUR 16.7m 
 
 
Earnings increase driven by parcel growth 
 
* EBITDA +51.5 % to EUR 99.0m 
* EBIT +79.2 % to EUR 59.8m 
 
  o Mail -3.0 % to EUR 45.5m 
  o Parcel & Logistics EUR +27.1m to EUR 35.8m 
  o Retail & Bank -12.4 % to minus EUR 18.4m 
 
 
Improved cash flow 
 
* Cash flow from operating activities +28.3 % to EUR 124.1m (+20.5 % to 
  EUR 85.0m before core banking assets) 
* Operating free cash flow +27.9 % to EUR 74.4m 
 
 
Positive outlook for 2021 
 
* Revenue increase of over 10 % expected 
* Targeted earnings increase (EBIT) of about 15 % 
* Focus on investment programme to ensure the company's operating capability 
 
 
The first quarter of the year 2021 continued to be impacted by the COVID-19 
pandemic and the related government-imposed restrictions. Numerous lockdown 
measures improved the market environment in the parcel business but at the same 
time, reduced business activities in Letter and Direct Mail. Parcel volumes were 
about 30 % higher than in the first quarter of 2020 prior to COVID-19. In 
contrast, letter and direct mail volumes fell by 6 % and 8.5 % respectively. 
"Our focus continues to be on ensuring health and safety of our employees as 
well as on operating performance of our logistics Group", says Austrian Post CEO 
Georg Pölzl. "Under these circumstances, we are very satisfied with the 
development of our business activities and the current revenue increase", Georg 
Pölzl adds. 
 
Austrian Post's Group revenue increased by 28.5 % in the first quarter of 2021 
to EUR 646.1m. This was driven by a solid core business, as parcel growth has 
sufficiently offset the mail business decline, as well as due to the full 
consolidation of the Turkish company Aras Kargo. In the period under review, the 
Parcel & Logistics Division generated revenue of EUR 323.7m, slightly above the 
Mail Division revenue of EUR 311.0m for the very first time. Consistent 
implementation of the company's strategy made this structural change possible. 
The Retail & Bank Division also produced growth, reporting revenue of EUR 16.7m 
in the first quarter of 2021. bank99 has been offering its own range of 
financial services since April 2020. 
 
Austrian Post's earnings grew substantially year-on-year. Group EBITDA rose by 
51.5 % to EUR 99.0m and EBIT was up by 79.2 % to EUR 59.8m. The Parcel & 
Logistics Division significantly contributed to earnings improvement, with EBIT 
increasing from EUR 8.7m to EUR 35.8m year-on-year. This can be attributed to 
the full consolidation of the Turkish company Aras Kargo as well as to solid 
parcel volume development and positive special effects relating to logistics 
services. The Mail Division faced a 3.0 % decline in EBIT to EUR 45.5m. In this 
case, the lockdown measures accelerated the negative volume trend and the 
related earnings effect. The Retail & Bank Division reported an EBIT of minus 
EUR 18.4m compared to minus EUR 16.4m in the prior-year quarter. The positive 
development of the financial services business was in contrast to a negative 
one-off effect from a staff-related provision in the branch network. Austrian 
Post's profit for the period was EUR 49.9m in the first quarter of 2021 compared 
to EUR 26.2m the year before. Earnings per share equalled EUR 0.71 in the period 
under review, up from EUR 0.42 in the first quarter of 2020. 
 
This good start to the year confirms Austrian Post's optimistic outlook for the 
full year 2021. The year should result in a solid revenue and earnings 
improvement in spite of the reduced visibility in many business areas along with 
heightened revenue volatility. Revenue is expected to increase by more than 
10 %, which should, in turn, lead to about 15 % improvement of targeted earnings 
in 2021. The growth objective is combined with current capacity expansion 
measures. The foreseeable medium-term parcel volume increases will continue to 
be delivered on the basis of excellent logistics quality. "We assure our 
customers that we will continue to guarantee the highest possible operational 
capability despite increasing transport volumes", Georg Pölzl concludes. 
 
 
KEY FIGURES 
 
                                                                   Change 
EUR m                                            Q1 2020 1 Q1 2021 %       EUR m 
Revenue                                          502.8     646.1   28.5 %  143.3 
Mail                                             317.5     311.0   -2.1 %  -6.6 
Parcel & Logistics                               174.5     323.7   85.5 %  149.1 
Retail & Bank                                    13.2      16.7    27.3 %  3.6 
Corporate/Consolidation                          -2.4      -5.3    <-100 % -2.9 
Other operating income                           13.3      22.2    66.7 %  8.9 
Raw materials, consumables and services used     -127.0    -185.6  -46.1 % -58.6 
Staff costs                                      -253.5    -303.5  -19.7 % -50.0 
Other operating expenses                         -70.3     -80.5   -14.6 % -10.3 
Results from financial assets accounted for      0.0       0.2     >100 %  0.3 
using the equity method 
EBITDA                                           65.3      99.0    51.5 %  33.6 
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment losses -32.0     -39.2   -22.5 % -7.2 
EBIT                                             33.3      59.8    79.2 %  26.4 
Mail                                             46.9      45.5    -3.0 %  -1.4 
Parcel & Logistics                               8.7       35.8    >100 %  27.1 
Retail & Bank                                    -16.4     -18.4   -12.4 % -2.0 
Corporate/Consolidation 2                        -5.8      -3.1    46.5 %  2.7 
Financial result                                 1.1       2.4     >100 %  1.3 
Profit before tax                                34.5      62.2    80.3 %  27.7 
Income tax                                       -8.3      -12.3   -48.2 % -4.0 
Profit for the period                            26.2      49.9    90.5 %  23.7 
Earnings per share (EUR)3                        0.42      0.71    68.2 %  0.29 
Gross cash flow                                  72.0      108.9   51.3 %  36.9 
Cash flow from operating activities 4            96.73     124.1   28.3 %  124.1 
Investment in property, plant and equipment      21.9      18.3    -16.2 % -3.6 
(CAPEX) 
Free cash flow 4                                 97.7      117.6   20.4 %  19.9 
Operating free cash flow 4,5                     58.2      74.4    27.9 %  16.2 
 
1 Net interest and commission income is now reported in revenue. In the first 
quarter of 2020, interest and commission expenses were reported under expenses 
for financial services. 
2 Includes the intra-Group cost allocation proceeding 
3 Undiluted earnings per share in relation to 67,552,638 shares 
4 The presentation of the provision of financial services has been adjusted. 
Cash and cash equivalents now also include receivables from banks arising from 
payment transactions of the bank itself, which were reported as part of 
financial assets from financial services in the previous year. 
5 Free cash flow before acquisitions/securities/money market investments, Growth 
CAPEX and core banking assets 
 
 
 
EXCERPTS FROM THE MANAGEMENT REPORT 
 
REVENUE DEVELOPMENT IN DETAIL 
 
In the first quarter of 2021, Austrian Post's Group revenue increased by 28.5 % 
to EUR 646.1m year-on-year. Without accounting for Aras Kargo, revenue increased 
by 12.0 % on a comparable basis. Growth in the parcel business led to a revenue 
increase of 85.5 % (organic growth of 38.0 %), which has sufficiently offset 
revenue decline in the Mail Division. 
 
On a divisional basis, developments in the first quarter of 2021 reflected a 
major change characterised by the increased importance of the parcel business. 
The share of the Mail Division as a proportion of total divisional revenue 
reduced to 47.7 %. This division produced an expected revenue decline, with 
revenue down by 2.1 %. On the one hand, this is attributable to the accelerated 
decrease in conventional letter mail due to electronic substitution as well as 
due to lockdown measures. On the other hand, the drop in revenue is due to the 
reduction in direct mail items as a consequence of government-imposed store 
closings in response to COVID-19. An adjustment in the letter mail product 
offering and postal rates took place on 1 April 2020, which has positively 
impacted the division's revenue development. The significance of the Parcel & 
Logistics Division increased within the Austrian Post Group. It generated 49.7 % 
of the total divisional revenue in the reporting period compared to 34.5 % in 
the prior-year quarter. The 85.5 % revenue increase in the first quarter of 2021 
was primarily driven by organic volume growth from online orders. Further growth 
was achieved due to the full consolidation of the Turkish subsidiary Aras Kargo 
on 25 August 2020, with revenue of EUR 82.8m in the first quarter of 2021. The 
Retail & Bank Division accounted for 2.6 % of divisional revenue in the first 
three months of 2021, producing revenue of EUR 16.7m (+27.3 %). bank99 started 
operating in the market on 1 April 2020.

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

May 12, 2021 01:30 ET (05:30 GMT)