Maribor, 14 April (STA) - Pošta Slovenije, the national postal company, reported group sales rising by 3% last year to EUR 243.8m. Net profit declined slightly to EUR 8.9m, general manager Boris Novak has told the STA.
The core company's results show a similar picture, with sales increasing by a percent to EUR 222.5m and net profit declining marginally to EUR 7.6m.
Novak said the biggest revenue growth was recorded in the segments packages, logistics services and direct mailing, while revenue from money transactions dropped.
"2017 was another year marked by ongoing structural changes in the global postal and logistics sector against the backdrop of the general digital transformation and the growing dominance of e-commerce over traditional commerce," he said.
Accordingly, the EUR 14.8m the company spent on investments last year was channelled primarily into IT and logistics projects in a bid to reinforce certain revenue streams and optimise processes.
The company is the universal postal service provider in Slovenia but this segment has been shrinking for years as the number of letters people send continued to shrink rapidly.
Novak said he expected the government to change legislation and adjust the scope of service the company is obligated by law to perform.
The expectation is that universal postal service will be systemically funded from the budget, just like it is in countries such as Croatia, Belgium, Great Britain, Italy and the majority of Scandinavian countries, he said.