In March 2008, the LOGISTICS Division was restructured and split between two board departments. The new structure is reflected in the segment reporting. The LOGISTICS Division was dissolved and replaced by the new FORWARDING/FREIGHT Division and the new SUPPLY CHAIN/CIS Division. Previously, the Corporate Information Solutions business was reported as part of the MAIL Division. The prior-year figures were restated accordingly.

On the whole, the division performed well in the first half of 2008. However, negative currency effects of around €600 million decreased revenue by 4.2% to €6,702 million (previous year: €6,997 million). Organically, revenue grew by 4.3% with contributions from all regions.

In the DHL Exel Supply Chain business, we generated new business of around €550 million in annualised revenue. The renewal rate was 90%. The Corporate Information Solutions business posted good organic growth despite the negative impact of the financial market crisis on the document management market.

Profit from operating activities (EBIT) was €224 million in the period under review (previous year: €274 million). The previous year’s figure included the sale of Vfw AG, which generated non-recurring income of €59 million. Adjusted for this inorganic effect and negative currency effects of more than €20 million, our EBIT grew by 12%. Return on sales before non-recurring effects rose from 3.1% to 3.3%.

Operating cash flow in the first half of 2008 was €–47 million.