Deutsche Post DHL Group generated further growth in the second quarter of 2020, despite the impact of COVID-19. Thanks to its broad portfolio of logistics services and its global presence, the Group increased revenue by 3.1% to €16.0 billion compared with the same quarter last year. Organic revenue growth (adjusted for portfolio and currency effects) was even higher at 4.6%. This was mainly driven by strong growth in e-commerce. Deutsche Post DHL Group was able to improve its operating profit (EBIT) by 18.6% to €912 million in the second quarter. Adjusted for non-recurring effects last year and this year, EBIT climbed by €229 million to €1.1 billion. With these results, the Group slightly surpassed the preliminary quarterly figures it released in July.
“More than on any occasion before, the crisis has shown the resilience of Deutsche Post DHL Group. Thanks to the tireless efforts of our 550,000 employees worldwide, we have been able to secure supplies to the world and maintain important supply chains for the industry – even in extremely challenging times,” said Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL Group. “Especially now, our focus on our profitable core logistics businesses and the digital transformation of the company as part of Strategy 2025 pays off. We have never been in better shape and I am confident that our company will emerge stronger from the crisis.”
Strong performance
Thanks to the Group’s broad geographic footprint and comprehensive portfolio of logistics solutions – ranging from global express, air and ocean freight transport to warehousing and e-commerce solutions and post and parcel services in Germany – Deutsche Post DHL Group is more robustly positioned than other companies to overcome crises. The ongoing digital transformation of business processes and customer solutions, for example through the use of data analytics and automation, has further consolidated the position of the divisions. The company’s performance in the second quarter once again demonstrated the strengths of the Group: All five divisions generated an operating profit in spite of the challenging conditions resulting from the pandemic.
This strong performance was supported by the steps that the Group took at an early stage to adjust its capacities in an agile way to the altered demand situation and to ensure the availability of its own flight capacities. At the beginning of the second quarter, business performance in express, air and ocean freight and warehousing were impacted in particular by the pandemic protection measures imposed in Europe and North America. In the further course of the second quarter, for example, volumes with time-definite international express shipments began to recover, which allowed the Express division to reach the previous year’s level in the first half of the year.
