Margin pressure is 'larger than expected' for Benelux postal operators, Jefferies says

PostNL

10/05/2024 13:41

** Jefferies remains cautious on Benelux postal operators
saying weaker than expected Q1 results leads to larger than
expected margin pressure
    ** The broker notes that the sector is facing relatively
weaker parcel volumes and expects a mail volume decline in 2024
of more than 7.5% for Bpost  BPOST.BR  and Post NL  PTNL.AS  
    ** It adds the sector is facing adverse mix effects, and
higher labour costs
    ** Jefferies upgrades Bpost to "hold" from "underperform",
saying lower profitability following the end of press concession
has largely been priced in
    ** It maintains PostNL to "hold", as the company confirms
FY24E guidance with stable normalised EBIT
    ** Shares in the two postal operators are up, at +1.9% for
Bpost and +2.4% for PostNL at 12.40 GMT 
    

 (Reporting by Mathias de Rozario)
 ((mathias.derozario@thomsonreuters.com))