MaltaPost plc - Interim Results

On 30 May 2019, MaltaPost plc published its preliminary statement of half yearly results for the six-month period ended 31 March 2019.

Performance Overview

During the first half of the current financial year, MaltaPost generated €17 million in revenues compared to €24.2 million in the first six months of the 2017/18 financial year. This decline reflects a reduction in foreign mail which was partly offset by increased revenues from parcels, registered letters and document management services.

On the expenditure side, total operating costs contracted by over 30% to €15.8 million as the significant decrease in other operating costs (mainly related to foreign mail) outweighed the increase in HR and depreciation charges. As a result, operating profit increased by 5.5% to €1.27 million compared to €1.21 million in H1 2017/18. Excluding depreciation charges, EBITDA grew by 6.4% to €1.75 million whilst the EBITDA margin improved to 10.3% from 6.8% in the previous comparable period.

After accounting for finance income of €0.1 million, the postal operator reported a pre-tax profit of €1.37 million. This is 6% higher than the figure of €1.29 million recorded in previous comparable period. Similarly, after deducting a tax charge of €0.47 million, net profit for the period increased by 5.5% to €0.9 million (H1 2017/18: €0.86 million). This translates into an annualised return on average equity of 7.4%.

The condensed Interim Statement of Financial Position shows that total assets contracted by 9.5% to €43.4 million since the end of September 2018, reflecting a €7.08 million decrease in cash balances. Similarly, total liabilities contracted by almost 19% to €17.5 million reflecting a marked reduction in trade and other payables. Overall, total shareholders’ funds eased by 1.9% to €25.9 million.

Outlook

In their commentary, the Directors explained how the local postal market remains challenging as increased e-commerce revenue and gains in operational efficiencies are not compensating for the extended decline in letter mail volume and rising costs. In this respect, MaltaPost noted that it continues to interact with regulatory authorities so as to conclude the revision of a service tariff structure. Once fully approved, this will allow flexibility and takes cognisance of the ever-changing market realities whilst also ensuring the sustainability of the company’s Universal Service Obligations and the returns to shareholders.

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MaltaPost plc – Condensed Interim Financial Statements for the six-month period ended 31 March 2019.