MAIL

Revenue almost on par with previous year

Revenue was €3,446 million in the first three months of 2010, only slightly below the prior-year period (€3,486 million). The sharp declines in revenue resulting from the economic crisis are behind us. Exchange rate losses amounted to €4 million.

Mail business revenue and volumes down

Revenue in the Mail Communication business unit declined from €1,508 million to €1,469 million. The increasing use of electronic means of communication is resulting in ongoing shrinkage of the market, although the economy is no longer intensifying this trend. We retained and regained quality-conscious customers; however, some of our customers turned to competitors as a consequence of a higher sensitivity to prices in light of the poor economic conditions.

Mail Communication: volumes
mail items (millions)
	Q1 2009	Q1 2010	+/– %
Business customer letters	1,784	1,726	–3.3
Private customer letters	316	311	–1.6
Total	2,100	2,037	–3.0

Customers still advertising less

In times of economic difficulty, customers change their advertising behaviour – a tendency that we continue to observe in the Dialogue Marketing business unit. Mail-order companies, in particular, are investing less in advertising. Overall volumes declined for both addressed and unaddressed advertising mail in the first quarter of 2010. Revenue fell from €683 million in 2009 to €667 million in 2010, a decrease of 2.3%.

Dialogue Marketing: volumes
mail items (millions)
	Q1 2009	Q1 2010	+/– %
Addressed advertising mail	1,565	1,520	–2.9
Unaddressed advertising mail1)	1,201	1,117	–7.0
Total	2,766	2,637	–4.7

Newspaper and magazine market continues downward trend

Revenue in the Press Services business unit amounted to €205 million in the reporting period, 2.8% below the prior-year figure of €211 million. We saw falling circulations and the discontinuation of some publications in the declining newspaper and magazine market. By contrast, the average publication weights were stable.