Background Information Capital Markets Day - Part 1
In connection with the release of its first-quarter figures, Deutsche Post DHL held a Capital Markets Day for analysts and investors in Frankfurt today where Chief Executive Officer Frank Appel as well as all Members of the Board of Management presented their growth strategies.
A summary of the statements is available in the two background articles. Part 1 focuses on the presentation by CEO Frank Appel. Part 2 covers the statements made by the other board members.
At the beginning of the event Frank Appel provided investors with a short overview of the company's current situation. He addressed major strategic topics of the past year such as the sale of Postbank and the restructuring of the business in the United States.
With programs like Roadmap to Value, IndEx and First Choice, the Group is well positioned to safely sail through the current economic storm, he said. The Group also laid the foundation for further organic growth with Strategy 2015, Appel reiterated.
Although Deutsche Post DHL has seen volumes stabilize in international express shipments and in air and ocean freight, it cannot be said with all certainty that the bottom has been reached. "There are indications that we've reached the bottom. But, just as before, many uncertainties remain," Appel said in Frankfurt.
If the Group's assessment proves right, it will increasingly benefit from its cost-cutting program in the second half of 2009 and in 2010. Deutsche Post DHL plans to cut 1 billion euros in indirect costs by the end of 2010. The Express division, which will contribute the lion's share with 460 million euros, expects to reach its target already by the end of this year and the other divisions also strive to reach their cost-cutting targets earlier than planned.
Appel was particularly proud of the achievements of the First Choice service initiatives. Following the introduction of First Choice, the satisfaction at so-called customer touch points was improved by one-fifth. The basis for comparison is customer touch points where the First Choice methodology has not yet been applied.
Appel once again explained the Group's two-pillar approach of the Group's Strategy 2015. Above all, the strong pillar formed by MAIL must be made competitive for the future, Appel said. Strategy 2015 is also intended to further strengthen business consolidated under the brand-name DHL. With the motto "One DHL," the Group wants to tap new revenue potential through 2015.
A new guiding principle - rooted in the values of respect and results - will also ensure that Strategy 2015 is swiftly implemented. As a result, organic growth that exceeds the market by 1 to 2 percentage points is to be achieved over the mid-term. In terms of profitability, cash conversion and return on capital, the Group is also striving to rank in the top quarter of the industry. If this succeeds, Appel told analysts, shareholders will also profit from satisfying returns in the long term.
