Strong earnings performance continues with normalised EBIT at €130 million and free cash flow of €159 million in Q1 2021
Outlook FY 2021 normalised EBIT at least €250 million, free cash flow above €225 million
The Hague, the Netherlands
Press release (EN)
Persbericht (NL)
Financial highlights
| in € million | Q1 2020 | Q1 2021 |
| Revenue | 701 | 962 |
| Normalised EBIT
assumed to be non-recurring and related to Covid-19 | 15 | 130
42* |
| Free cashflow | 5 | 159 |
| Normalised comprehensive income | 30 | 112 |
Highlights Q1 2021
- Strong operational performance at Parcels continued with 108 million parcels delivered (+61.6%), partly non-recurring due to lockdown
- Strong result at Mail in the Netherlands partly based on non-recurring mail items relating to Covid-19 and favourable development in price/mix
CEO statement
Herna Verhagen, CEO of PostNL, said: “We had a very good start of the year and continued the momentum that we’ve seen since the second quarter of last year. These results have been achieved thanks to strong teamwork and good cooperation between the businesses. The health and safety of our people, customers and consumers remains our key priority.
“Once again, we proved our collective resilience and flexibility during ongoing unprecedented circumstances. We delivered a record 108 million parcels in one quarter. Performance at Mail in the Netherlands was strong, although the underlying volume decline due to substitution continued. Normalised EBIT came in at €130 million. Taking into account the lockdown situation, and other Covid-19 effects, we assume around €42 million of this result is non-recurring. The acceleration of our digital transformation, aimed at strengthening our competitive position by building on our platform, is progressing well, and we intend to further speed up our investments.
“Based on the strong performance in the first quarter, we raised our outlook for 2021 on 26 April, with normalised EBIT now forecast to be at least €250 million and free cash flow to come in above €225 million. Going forward, visibility remains limited. The exact consequences of changes in the lockdown, such as the reopening of non-essential stores in the Netherlands as of 28 April, are difficult to predict.”
About PostNL
We are PostNL, here for everyone, bringing it all together for 225 years. With an extensive network of nearly 5,800 PostNL points, 11,000 letterboxes, and over 900 automated, also open to various carriers, along with millions of users of the PostNL app, we're always close by. We aim to be everyone's favourite deliverer by making it as easy as possible to send and receive parcels and mail. With nearly 34,000 colleagues working with us, we are part of society. We offer a range of services, including mail and parcel delivery, logistic e-commerce solutions, and cross-border solutions. On an average weekday in the Benelux, we deliver 1.1 million parcels and 6.9 million letters. We are commitment to customer satisfaction, providing opportunities for our employees, and generating value for our stakeholders through growth, digitalisation, and sustainability.
We optimise and support our physical networks through the use of smart digital solutions and introduce new propositions that add value for our customers. And aim for sustainable employment relationships by being a good employer to all people working with and for us. We focus on sustainability, making many journeys on foot and by bicycle, increasingly using cleaner fuels and electric vehicles, and offering innovative city logistics. PostNL N.V. is a publicly traded company with a turnover of €3.2 billion in 2023, 62% of which e-commerce related.