We have largely taken care of legacy issues – and we have done our homework. We have also strengthened our financial stability with the proceeds from the sale of Postbank. All in all I see we have successfully navigated the crisis and achieved the goals we set for ourselves in 2009.

Moreover, we launched Strategy 2015 and with it laid the foundation for future growth. This strategy has already become part of how we do business. Two examples illustrate this: first, Deutsche Post will introduce its letter on the internet to the market this summer, an innovation that integrates the physical letter – with all of its features such as reliability and confidentiality – into the world of electronic communication. Second, DHL now has its own team to pull together all the ideas from DHL’s divisions and look for ways our customers can benefit from them. As the industry leader, we understand the trends and know what our future depends on: offering our customers innovative and sustainable products that simplify their lives.

The global economic crisis is not yet our wake, but the signs that the worst is over are steadily increasing. Global trade has been on a recovery course since the second half of 2009, with the trend actually increasing slightly in the first two months of the new year. For us this means that we will move ahead as planned this year and sustainably improve the Group’s profitability through innovative products, high service levels and customer-orientated solutions.

Our new financial strategy is based on reliability and stability. This also applies to future payouts. We will increase our investments cautiously to €1.4 billion and use them for organic growth in both pillars of our Group. Earnings are likely to increase this year. We expect full-year consolidated EBIT before non-recurring items to reach €1.6 billion to €1.9 billion in 2010. For the first time both pillars of our business will contribute nearly equally to these results – an indication of the strength of our two-pillar strategy.

We want to remain Die Post für Deutschland (The Postal Service for Germany) and become The Logistics Company for the World. We are setting the bar high and our guiding principle, Respect and Results, reflects this. We will only achieve the results we need to be successful in the long term if we treat our shareholders, customers and employees as well as society and the environment with respect. Of that I am entirely convinced.

Yours faithfully,