euro adhoc: Österreichische Post AG / Financial Figures/Balance Sheet / Austrian Post Annual Results 2007:Revenues and earnings up more than 30%, optimisation of company´s capital structure

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annual report

11.03.2008

- Significant increase of Group revenues, up 33.3% to EUR 2,315.7m -
Successful acquisitions in 2007: ten new companies, corresponding to
investments of EUR 72m - Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT)
increased by 32.0% to EUR 162.8m - Operating cash flow before changes
in working capital improved 5.3% to EUR 292.4m - Outlook for 2008:
stable to slight increase in revenue, EBIT slightly below 2007 -
Optimisation of the capital structure - proposal to the Annual
General Meeting: - Basic dividend of EUR 1.40 per share -
Special dividend of EUR 1.00 per share - Authorisation of share
buy-back programme of up to 10% of share capital

Good business development The business of Austrian Post proceeded
favourably in 2007. Total revenue increased by 33.3% to EUR 2,315.7m.
A major contribution to the growth in revenues (about EUR 500m) can
be attributed to the initial consolidation of trans-o-flex (Parcel &
Logistics Division), acquired at the end of 2006. On balance,
revenues from the Mail Division were up 5.3%, and the Parcel &
Logistics Division improved by 225.3%. In contrast, the Branch
Network Division posted a decline in revenues of 1.2%.

Revenue Change Structure
EUR m 2006 2007 2006/2007 2007
in% in%
Total revenue 1,736.7 2,315.7 +33.3% 100.0%
Mail 1,311.3 1,381.0 +5.3% 59.6%
Parcel&Logistics 227.1 738.6 +225.3% 31.9%
Branch Network 194.4 192.1 -1.2% 8.3%
Other/Consolidation 4.0 4.1 +2.1% 0.2%

Internationalisation drive
With the acquisition of ten companies Austrian Post successfully continued its
selective international expansion strategy, establishing a foothold in new
markets or new niche segments. In the meantime, 27% of Austrian Post´s total
revenue is generated abroad, compared to less than 3% in 2006. As a consequence,
Austrian Post has further positioned itself as a niche player and a local
integrator in CEE. Austrian Post invested a total of EUR 72m in 2007 for these
acquisitions.

EBIT up 32%
EUR m Change
2006 2007 2006/2007 Q4 Q4
in% 2006 2007
Revenue 1,736.7 2,315.7 +33.3% 465.6 648.4
EBITDA 231.7 292.7 +26.3% 58.3 102.2
EBIT 123.3 162.8 +32.0% 29.6 44.4
Profit for the
period 99.8 122.6 +22.9% 29.1 26.5
Earnings per

Share (EUR) 1.43 1.75 +22.9% 0.42 0.38

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)
of Austrian Post totalled EUR 292.7m in 2007, up 26.3% compared to
the previous year. Accordingly, the EBITDA margin amounted to 12.6%.
The depreciation and amortisation totalling EUR 130.0m include
one-off effects such as impairment losses for property, plant and
equipment and intangible assets along with impairment losses for
goodwill amounting to EUR 32.1m in total. Impairment losses primarily
apply to the Parcel & Logistics Division as well as to the
Other/Consolidation segment.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of Austrian Post in 2007
increased by 32.0% compared to the preceding year, to EUR 162.8m.
Accordingly, the EBIT margin amounted to 7.0%.

All operational company divisions made a positive contribution to
this performance. The Mail Division achieved an EBIT of EUR 274.3m,
the Parcel & Logistics Division contributed EUR 12.8m, and the Branch
Network Division generated an EBIT of 13.6m.

Earnings before tax rose 26.3% year-on-year, to EUR 164.9m. After
deducting the income tax expense amounting to EUR 42.2m, the profit
after tax totalled EUR 122.6m. Accordingly, the consolidated profit
for the period of Austrian Post for the year 2007 rose by 22.9%, to
EUR 122.6m, and is almost completely assigned to the shareholders of
Austrian Post. Only EUR 0.1m of the profit for the period is assigned
to minority interests. Earnings per share rose from EUR 1.43 to EUR
1.75.

Solid balance sheet structure - equity ratio of 43% Acquisitions made
by Austrian Post during the last two years led to an increase in
total assets, to the current level of EUR 2,058.6m. The balance sheet
analysis for Austrian Post shows a considerable amount of financial
resources on the assets side. Austrian Post has a total position of
cash and cash equivalents of EUR 309.4m as at December 31, 2007, and
including financial assets and investments in securities, has
interest-bearing assets totalling EUR 538.1m. On the equity and
liabilities side, the equity ratio amounts to 42.5%. Interest-bearing
liabilities total EUR 711.5m. In the light of the low level of net
financial liabilities, measures are being implemented to optimise the
company´s capital structure.

Cash flow up 5.3% During the period under review, operating cash flow
before changes in working capital of Austrian Post increased by 5.3%
compared to the preceding year, to EUR 292.4m. This improvement can
be primarily attributed to the contributions of the new subsidiaries
as well as a lower increase of non-current provisions. Including
changes in working capital, cash flow from operating activities
amounted to EUR 295.9m in 2007, an increase of 24.3% year-on-year.

During the period under review, the cash flow from investing
activities was minus EUR 142.4m, encompassing the purchase of
property, plant and equipment amounting to EUR 96.8m, the acquisition
of new subsidiaries totalling EUR 71.9m (Weber Escal, Scanpoint,
meiller, ST Media, Scherübl, Road Parcel, Merland Expressz, DDS, VOP,
City Express) as well as the purchase of a 5% stake in the consortium
acquiring BAWAG PSK.

Accordingly, total free cash flow was EUR 153.4m. Taking account of a
dividend payout amounting to EUR 70.0m, the net increase in cash and
cash equivalents was EUR 80.0m in the 2007 business year.

Employees During the period under review, the average number of
full-time employees at Austrian Post rose by 5.3% compared to the
previous year, or about 1,300 employees, to the current level of
25,764 employees. This increase is related to the acquisition of new
subsidiaries and shareholdings.

Outlook 2008 All in all, Austrian Post expects a stable development
to a slight increase (up to 3%) in its total revenue for the year
2008. This includes the integration of the new subsidiaries acquired
during the course of 2007. This forecast is based on the assumption
of a largely stable development in letter mail and direct mail
volumes, an increase in Austrian Post´s international parcels
business as well as a lower volume in the company´s Austrian parcels
business due to the loss of major mail order customers. Customer
losses in the parcels segment are being counteracted by a
repositioning and corresponding restructuring of the Parcel &
Logistics Division in Austria.

Despite these adverse effects on Austrian Post´s parcels business,
the company anticipates that earnings before interest and tax (EBIT)
in 2008 will only be slightly below the level achieved in the year
2007, and will then rise in subsequent years. In 2008, the EBIT
margin will be slightly below 7%, and then reach the targeted range
of between 7% and 8% in the following years. An EBIT margin of 2% -
3% is expected for the Parcel & Logistics Division in the year 2008,
which is anticipated to increase to the targeted level of 5% in
subsequent years.

Events after the balance sheet date At the end of January 2008,
Austrian Post acquired the remaining 49% stake in Scanpoint Europe.
The core business of the Scanpoint Group is the data protected
digitalisation of documents as well as the delivery of
business-relevant information within the context of a customer´s
in-house workflow.

Optimisation of the capital structure Austrian Post is striving to
ensure a further optimisation of its capital structure. A sound
balance sheet and strong cash flow enable the company to distribute
cash to shareholders. Austrian Post has defined a medium-term target
of achieving a ratio of net debt to EBITDA of 2.0x compared to a
ratio of 0.6x in 2007. This target has been derived from the analysis
of Austrian Post's historical financial data, the company´s
medium-term planning and it's business strategy. Naturally, corporate
flexibility and freedom of action also play a role. These
considerations have led Austrian Post to develop the following
immediate measures.

It will be proposed to the next Annual General Meeting that, in
addition to a basic dividend of EUR 1.40 per share (ex-dividend day:
May 6, 2008), a special dividend of EUR 1.00 per share will also be
distributed (ex-dividend day: September 5, 2008). In addition, it
will also be proposed that the Annual General Meeting grant
authorisation for Austrian Post to carry out a share buy-back
programme over the following 18 month totalling a maximum of 10% of
the company´s share capital. In addition, the basic dividend is
expected to increase in the coming years and the minimum dividend
payout ratio will be raised from 70% to 75% of the profit for the
period.

end of announcement euro adhoc
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ots Originaltext: Österreichische Post AG
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Further inquiry note:

Austrian Post

Head of Investor Relations

DI Harald Hagenauer

Tel.: +43(0)57767-30400

harald.hagenauer@post.at

Austrian Post

Head of Group Communication

Mag. Marc Zimmermann

Tel.: 43(0)57767-22626

marc.zimmermann@post.at

Austrian Post

Press spokesman

Michael Homola

Tel.: +43(0)57767-32010

michael.homola@post.at

Branche: Transport
ISIN: AT0000APOST4
WKN: A0JML5
Index: ATX
Börsen: Wiener Börse AG / stock market


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