Roadmap to Value

Clear focus on profitability

Our capital markets programme continues to focus on our Group-wide cost-cutting drive to lower indirect costs by €1 billion. In fact, we have accelerated the IndEx programme and we are confident that we will reach our overall savings goal as early as in the second quarter of 2010. This goal is divided amongst the divisions as follows: EXPRESS €460 million, MAIL €180 million, GLOBAL FORWARDING, FREIGHT €160 million, SUPPLY CHAIN €130 million and Corporate Center/Other €70 million. The divisions are meeting their cost reduction targets as planned and so far we have saved €552 million, €413 million of which was saved in the first half of 2009.

Tight cash management

We invested €478 million in the first half of 2009 – €290 million less than the prior-year period and a substantial reduction in capital expenditure. At the same time we improved working capital year-on-year by €540 million in the first half of the year.