Belgium's market resilience and business growth in Europe softened the impact of the general decline in Bpost's revenue, the Belgian postal company announced on Friday ahead of the stock market opening.
The second quarter of 2024 resulted in €988.2 million in revenue for the company, a 3.8% decline compared to last year. The profit before interest and taxes (EBIT) sat at €57.8 million, representing a 15.9% drop.
Significant revenue pressure was observed in the North American market, where Bpost owns Radial and Landmark. In total, the company faced a 14.3% drop to €282.7 million due to a decrease in volumes.
In contrast, Eurasian operating income showed a 3.3% growth, which the postal company attributes significantly to business growth in Europe. In Belgium alone, revenue rose to €563 million in the second quarter, growing by 1.1% annually. Mail volume decline was restricted to 2.9%, softened by election mail dispatch, while parcel volume growth hit 2.5%.
"While our activities in Belgium continue to grow and mail revenues remain resilient, revenues in North America are still under pressure. We are taking the necessary actions to mitigate these effects," stated Bpost CEO Chris Peeters.
Bpost's recent acquisition of Staci, a European third-party logistics specialist, is expected to strengthen the company's position in the European logistics market.
Bpost expects to see an overall slight decrease in revenue in 2024, highlighting recent deals with newspaper publishers.
