MaltaPost plc - Interim Results

On 9 May, MaltaPost plc published its half-year results covering the six months ended 31 March 2013.

Performance Overview

During the period under review, revenue grew by 2.5% to just under €11.3 million as the continued increase in the parcel business and the increase in certain postal tariffs offset the negative impact on the Group’s turnover emanating from the further decline in traditional mail volumes as well as the revised cross-border tariff charges imposed by the Universal Postal Union (UPU). Meanwhile, operating expenses only increased by 1.4% to €10.4 million. The reason for the higher expenses is the increase in wages.

As a result, operating profit amounted to €0.89 million representing a 17.2% increase over the comparable figure for the six months ended 31 March 2012.

After repaying all its debt outstanding by the end of the previous financial year, MaltaPost reported a rise in interest income to €0.13 million compared to €0.04 million in the previous comparable period. This led to a 27.6% increase in pre-tax profits to just over €1 million and after accounting for a tax charge of €0.4 million, the Company’s net profit for the period amounted to €0.66 million representing a 30.9% increase over the previous period. This translates into an earnings per share of €0.02 (Mar 2012: €0.016).

The balance sheet as at 31 March 2013 shows total assets of €26.97 million, representing a 6.9% drop from the level as at 30 September 2012 as the Company utilised €3 million of its cash balances mainly to reduce its payables. Shareholders’ funds increased by 2.9% to €16 million reflecting the profit registered during the period under review. This translates into a net asset value per share of €0.47.

Outlook

New tariffs introduced on 1 April 2013 (subsequent to the end of the half-year) should further help the Company to offset the negative impact from the new UPU tariffs as well as the declining traditional mail volumes.

Furthermore, the Directors explained that the Company needs to enhance its product offering as well as diversify its revenue streams in view of the challenges being faced in the letter mail sector. In this respect, the Directors revealed that following the successful launch of ‘Send-On’, the Company will be launching new enhanced services to complement the growing e-commerce market. During the current financial year ending 30 September 2013, the Company also expects to complete the necessary investment for the expansion of services in connection with document management and hybrid mail. Moreover, MaltaPost will be entering the insurance market once the necessary regulatory approvals are granted.

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MaltaPost plc – Interim Financial Statements for the six months ended 31 March 2013