Geopost/DPD Revenues remain stable in 2023, despite the challenges

 

Zagreb | March 2024 | The year 2023 brought once again many challenges and disturbances regarding complex geopolitical events in the world. The year was marked by numerous international conflicts that contributed to affect the economy. The parcel industry also faced increasing pressure on costs.

Energy prices and inflation grew, while the economy stagnated and even decreased in certain regions. Most of the economies were pressured to reduce costs, and it is no different in the delivery services, which were faced with ever-increasing pressure on costs, in both B2B and B2C segments.

Despite the uncertainties and disruptions of the market, Geopost succeeded in keeping its revenues stable and recorded revenues of €15,69 billion which is +0.7% compared to 2022. Therefore, Geopost once again demonstrated its ability to adapt to unfavorable market conditions, such as rising energy prices and inflation caused by international conflicts. Moreover, DPD Croatia shows ability to adapt as well, having positive revenue growth in 2023.

Operating results decreased for the second year in a row. For the first time since the emergence of e-commerce, it had declined notably in Germany, in the UK, and in France. This e-commerce volume decline significantly reflects the choices made by households against a backdrop of falling purchasing power and more cautious consumer habits in most of the markets where Geopost operates. Despite the challenges, DPD Croatia achieved a 5.4% higher volume of delivered parcels than in the previous year. In the whole year, the volume of delivered parcels within the Geopost is slightly higher than 2 billion, which represents 8 million parcels delivered daily.

Consolidation of strategic segments of alternative parcel delivery (Out-Of-Home)

Alternative delivery options are one of the fastest growing segments in recent years, as shown by Geopost E-shopper Barometer 2023 survey about e-buyer habits. In the fast-growing market, Geopost has greatly strengthened its presence in the last few years. The Out-of-home network counted 20,000 Pickup locations in Europe in 2015, and 50,000 in 2021. At the end of 2023, Geopost announced that it had reached 100,000 Pickup locations. Although the goal was to reach the number of 100,000 alternative pickup locations (Pickup locations and Pickup lockers) by 2025, Geopost managed to reach this goal two years earlier than planned.

With this kind of growth in the number of alternative parcel pickup locations by 25% compared to 2022, Geopost has shown strong activity in this area. DPD Croatia also contributed to the growth and expansion of the Out-of-home (OOH) network and participates in the total number of parcel pickup locations with more than 1,200 locations all over the country.

Extra-financial results published for the first time

Sustainability remains at the core of Geopost’s and DPD’s agenda. At the beginning of 2023, the short-term and long-term Net-zero goals by 2040 were formally approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Thus, Geopost became the first global parcel delivery company to have its carbon emission reduction targets approved by the SBTi.

As per this trajectory, Geopost ambitions are to radically reduce its absolute GHG emissions from scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 43% by 2030 and by 90% by 2040 (compared to 2020). Moreover, in 2023 Geopost operated with 2,500 more low-emission vehicles – the delivery fleet having reached 9,000 low-emission vehicles. The goal by 2025 remains for deliveries to be made entirely by low-emission vehicles in 350 European cities. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions was reduced by 1.4% compared to 2022 with -25,763 tons. Furthermore, DPD Croatia puts strong emphasis on moving away from fossil fuels towards alternative energy sources and modes of transport. At the beginning of 2024, the delivery fleet was upgraded with 20 new electric vehicles. Locally, DPD contributes to an environmentally sustainable method of energy production by installing solar panels at new distribution centers all over Croatia.

Commenting on these results, Yves Delmas, CEO of Geopost, said:

“2023 has proved to be another year full of challenges for Geopost. We have ended the year with stable revenues. In a complex market environment, our teams succeeded in demonstrating their best resilience. Together we continued to deliver on our strategy by adapting and taking the necessary actions to protect our operating performance whilst resolutely carrying out our ambitious sustainability agenda. A case in point is the endorsement of our net-zero targets by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), a major achievement and a testament to our commitment to fighting climate change. Today, we’re confident in our strategy and our long-term ambitions, and we’re looking forward to 2024 as a new milestone in our economic, sustainable, and social development.”