Poste Italiane

Last updated

Poste Italiane S.p.A.
FormerlyRegie Poste [1]
Company type Public
BIT:  PST
FTSE MIB Component
ISIN IT0003796171
Industry
FoundedMay 5, 1862;162 years ago (1862-05-05)
Headquarters190 viale Europa,
Rome
,
Italy
Area served
 Italy
Key people
Services
Revenue€ 12 billion (2023 [4] )
€ 1,9 billion (2023 [4] )
Owner
Number of employees
120,155 (2023 [4] )
Subsidiaries
[5]
Capital ratio
  • 22.1% (CET1, BancoPosta division only) [4]
  • 307% Insurance Group’s Solvency [4]
  • The Group confirmed its capital solidity during 2023. In 2022 the same indicators were at 23.1% and 253% respectively.
Website www.posteitaliane.it
Footnotes /references
In consolidated balance sheet excluding minority interests

Poste Italiane (English: Italian Post; PT) is the Italian postal service provider.

Contents

Besides providing postal services, Poste Italiane offers communications, postal savings products, logistics, and financial and insurance services throughout Italy.

History

1862 – 1990

Law no. 604 of 5 May 1862 (the so-called Postal reform) [6] created a national and centralised organisation for postal service by introducing a general fee to pay for services, including postal stamps, throughout the entire territory of the newly formed kingdom of Italy. Subsequently, with Royal Decree 5973 of 10 March 1889, the Directorate General of Posts and Telegraphs was separated from the Ministry of Public Works and thus turned into the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs. It was commissioned to create a network of offices in Italy to forward and receive mail and telegrams, make and receive telephone calls, carry out financial transactions, and manage assets. It also worked as a branch office for the nascent electric services for a time.

The giro service (commonly known as BancoPosta since 2000) was founded in 1917. In 1924, during the Fascist period, the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs was renamed the Ministry of Communications, becoming an important centre of power. The services network was expanded with the acquisition and implementation of new logistics facilities. New buildings in the Functionalist style were built in major cities.

With the development of telephony and radio communications, the Ministry incorporated the State Company for Telephone Services (ASST) and the nascent EIAR (which would later become RAI and run both public radio and television).

1990 – 2000

In the early 1990s, the Italian public administration and postal service were deemed irrecoverable in terms of efficiency and profitability. The budget deficit increased personnel costs, which in 1986 absorbed about 93% (including 16% for pensions) of the current revenue. From 1970 to 1985 employees’ productivity was reduced by 24% at the expense of the quality of services provided, generating an ever more critical deficit situation.

In 1994 the regular average of delivered daily mail after dispatch was less than 20% in Italy, compared to almost 80% in Germany. In 1989, the average time for mail delivery was 8.5 days.

An attempt was made to contain the obvious gap in the quality of Italian postal service compared to the rest of Europe, with Decree-Law no. 487 of 1 December 1993, converted by law no. 71 of 29 January 1994. This led to the transformation of the Italian Post Office from an independent company into a public business, with the additional step to joint-stock company being taken in 1996 (implemented after 28 February 1998). [7]

The transformation process required the management of the Italian postal services to adopt the production efficiency principle, recover the quality of services, and bring about economic and financial recovery.

There was a gradual reduction of the 4,500 billion lira deficit (as of 1993) through specific policies to reduce production costs (80% due to staff costs [8] ), by increasing revenues from the sale of services to the PA, and by reordering the tariff system, leading Poste Italiane to record a net profit by 2001. [9]

In February 1998, the Ministry of the Treasury (The Prodi I Cabinet) appointed Corrado Passera as the CEO of the newly formed joint-stock company Poste Italiane. [10] [11] The business plan implemented by Corrado Passera from 1998 to 2002 reduced staff by 22,000. [12] According to trade union leaders, there was a casualization of contracts for new recruits, cases of widespread harassment, and resignation because of workload due to the excessive staff cuts.

The Solidarity Fund was used for saving on labour costs as well as lowering the average age of the staff. The last two years of missing contributions from employees taking early retirement were paid for by a deduction in payroll for the new employees for 10 years. The company offsets these losses by replacing them by recruiting many young workers under the age of 24 and giving them three-year apprenticeship contracts.

2000 – 2010

In 2000, the Italian Post Office, through its subsidiary SDA Express Courier, [13] acquired 20% of the share capital of the Bartolini company [14] and officially formed the Consortium Logistics and Parcels with the three companies for the sorting of parcels in the country. This agreement was the subject of a challenge by the rival companies in court, but it ended in favour of the Consortium.

Poste Italiane adopted a control system for monitoring in real-time all the post offices, the logistics network and the security of digital communications and transactions working with the Italian government, international agencies, universities and research centres.

2010 – 2015

In 2011, Poste Italiane acquired UniCredit MedioCredito Centrale for €136 million. [15] [16]

On 16 May 2014, the Italian government approved the stakes sale of up to 40 per cent in Poste Italiane. [17]

In 2015, under CEO Francesco Caio, Poste Italiane closed 455 offices in 2015 due to low profit. [18] [19] Current CEO Matteo Del Fante stated in November 2018 that the company’s intention is to preserve post offices and take specific measures for smaller Italian cities. [4]

The Ministry of Economy and Finance (Italy), which now owns 64.696% of Poste Italiane, sold about 35% of shares on Borsa Italiana. On 25 May 2016, a further 35% stake was transferred from the ministry to Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), making it the minority shareholder of the national investment bank. This has given it equity in stakes for Poste Italiane but has also diluted its voting rights in CDP. [20] [21] [22]

2015 – present

From the date of listing on the stock exchange (27 October 2015) to 31 December 2021, Poste Italiane's share price increased by 71% (while the FTSE MIB index decreased by 20.8%), which helped in an overall return for shareholders (TSR) of +137% while the main Italian stock exchange index recorded a loss of 47%.

An annual report from 2021 recorded Poste Italiane's turnover as over €11.2 billion, an EBIT of €1.8 billion, a net profit of €1.6 billion and a CAPEX of €754 million (Data source: Annual Report 2021).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Poste Italiane was able to guarantee operational continuity and extensive cooperation with national institutions to support the logistical activities of the Italian National Protection Service.

Activities

With a network of about 12,800 post offices, 120,155 employees and 45 million customers, Poste Italiane is the largest service distribution network in Italy. [4] The company operates in the fields of logistics, mail and parcel delivery, financial and insurance services, payment systems and telephony, with activities divided into four different business areas. [4]

Mail, parcel and distribution

Being the first postal operator in Italy, the Group provides mail and parcel delivery services using its own multi-channel distribution platform. [23] Additionally, they are engaged in hybrid mail management, a service that converts digital documents into physical form and delivers them to recipients, ensuring the integrity and certification of digital communications and operations. [24]

Since 2018, the Joint Delivery model has been implemented, allowing more flexible parcel and e-commerce shipment delivery tailored to specific characteristics of the area, such as population density and mail volumes. The model also includes some investments in cutting-edge distribution and automation technologies. [25] [26] [4]

Financial services

Poste Italiane is one of the primary financial services operators in the country through its asset allocation BancoPosta. The structure is responsible for actively managing the portfolio of liquidity gathered from both private and public customers. [27] It also handles the collection and management of postal savings, which are issued by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti in the form of interest-bearing bonds and passbooks. [28] Furthermore, the Group provides collection and payment services, including postal bulletins, F24, national and international postal money orders, Moneygram, and Eurogiro circuit services. [29] Moreover, Poste Italiane is involved in the placement and distribution of financial products issued by third parties or other companies within the Group. [4]

Insurance

Poste Italiane operates in the insurance sector through Poste Vita, which provides insurance, pension, investment and savings products. Additionally, the company operates in the non-life insurance segment through Poste Assicura, which was established in 2010. Poste Assicura offers various insurance products that cover protection against accidents, civil and general liability, fire, property damage, and pecuniary losses. They also provide legal assistance services. [30]

Payments and mobile

Finally, Poste Italiane is involved in the realm of e-money and electronic payments. [31] The division also includes the provision of telephone operator services through the PosteMobile service, [32] initiatives related to the digital sector, [33] as well as electricity and gas sales services provided by Poste Energia. The availability of Poste Energia's services commenced in February 2023 and covers the entire country. [34]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post office</span> Customer service facility of a postal system

A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional services, which vary by country. These include providing and accepting government forms, and processing government services and fees. The chief administrator of a post office is called a postmaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mail</span> System for transporting documents and other small packages

The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal systems have generally been established as a government monopoly, with a fee on the article prepaid. Proof of payment is usually in the form of an adhesive postage stamp, but a postage meter is also used for bulk mailing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Russia</span>

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the modern Russian Federation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia Post</span> Australian postal service

Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation and also known as AusPost, is an Australian Government-owned corporation that provides postal services throughout Australia. Australia Post's head office is located on Bourke Street, Melbourne, above the Bourke Street Post Office.

Poste restante, also known as general delivery in North American English, is a service where the post office holds the mail until the recipient calls for it. It is a common destination for mail for people who are visiting a particular location and have no need, or no way, of having mail delivered directly to their place of residence at that time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Posti Group</span> Finnish national postal company

Posti Group Oyj, trading internationally as Posti Group Corporation, is the main Finnish postal service delivering mail and parcels in Finland. The State of Finland is the sole shareholder of the company. Posti has a universal service obligation that entails weekday deliveries of letters in all of Finland's municipalities. Posti's head office is located in Pohjois-Pasila in Helsinki. Posti's history spans nearly 400 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post Danmark</span>

Post Danmark A/S, trading as PostNord Denmark, is the national provider of postal services in Denmark. It was established as a fully state-owned stock holder's company in 1995 following political liberalization efforts. Post Danmark had taken over the mail delivery concession of its predecessor, the governmental department Postvæsenet, which was established in 1624. Post Danmark A/S was turned into a public limited company in 2002. In 2005, 22% of the company shares were sold to CVC Capital Partners, 3.5% of the company shares were partly sold to employees at a discount, partly kept in reserve for a management incentives program. In 2009, it was merged with the Swedish Posten AB to form PostNord, a joint postal service company between Denmark and Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian Post</span> Russian national postal operator

Russian Post is an Aktsionernoye Obschestvo which is the national postal operator of Russia. The company is responsible for the delivery of mail in Russia, and the issuing of postage stamps. Russian Post employs about 390,000 people and has over 42,000 post offices, with its headquarters in Moscow. In 2012 the Russian Post delivered more than 2.4 billion pieces of mail and accounted for more than 54 million parcels and more than 100 million in remittances. In March 2013 a presidential decree signed by President Vladimir Putin included the Russian Post in a list of so-called strategic enterprises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swiss Post</span> National postal service of Switzerland

Swiss Post is the national postal service of Switzerland. A public company owned by the Swiss Confederation, it is the country's second largest employer with about 54,000 employees. The group is based in Bern and has branches in 25 countries. Roberto Cirillo is its CEO since April 2019. In 2021, Swiss Post was ranked as the world's best by the Universal Postal Union for the fifth time in a row. In December 2022, it was announced Swiss Post has acquired the St. Gallen-based sustainable packaging company, Kickbag GmbH.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish Post</span> National postal service of Poland

The Polish Post is the state postal administration of Poland, initially founded in 1558. The company is headquartered in Warsaw and employs over 67,000 people. It is the largest mail-handling company in the country, which additionally provides courier, banking, insurance and logistics services. The digital services, such as neo-stamps, neo-letters and neo-postcards, are available through the Internet-based platform Envelo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Poste (France)</span> Postal service company in France

La Poste is a postal service company in France, operating in Metropolitan France, the five French overseas departments and regions and the overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Under bilateral agreements, La Poste also has responsibility for mail services in Monaco through La Poste Monaco and in Andorra alongside the Spanish company Correos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassa Depositi e Prestiti</span> Italian investment bank

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A., also known as CDP S.p.A., is a prominent Italian development bank founded on November 20, 1850, in Turin. Its original duty was to finance public works like roads and waterworks during the reign of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, King of Sardinia-Piedmont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PosteMobile</span> Telephone operator of Italian Post

PosteMobile is an Italian telecommunications company owned by Poste Italiane trough Postepay, which operates in the mobile telephony sector as Mobile Virtual Network Operator on the Wind network and, since 2017, it also offers fixed-line telephony and Internet services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of San Marino</span>

The postal history of San Marino can be traced to October 7, 1607, with the introduction of public postal services. The republic's postal needs were handled by a post office in nearby Rimini, Italy; the first San Marino post office opened in 1833.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry for Business and Made in Italy</span>

The Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, commonly known under the shortening of its pre-2022 name, MISE, is a government ministry of the Italian Republic. It deals with production, economic activities, energy and mineral resources, telecommunications, consumers, tourism, internationalisation and business incentives. It was formed in 2006 after the reorganization of the Ministry of Productive Activities to which were merged the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of International Trade in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Posta Uganda</span>

Posta Uganda originally named Uganda Post Limited, is the company solely responsible for postal service in Uganda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corrado Passera</span> Italian manager and banker

Corrado Passera is an Italian manager and banker, who has served as Minister of Economic Development and Infrastructure and Transport in the Mario Monti Cabinet. He is a member of Spencer Stuart's Industrial Chain practices.

The Polizia Postale e delle Comunicazioni is one of the units of the Polizia di Stato, the State Police of Italy. Its functions include the investigation of cybercrime.

BancoPosta is the Italian postal savings system that operates as a unit of the Italian Post Office providing financial services, including savings accounts, prepaid cards, exchange brokerage services, investment services, insurance, and various payment services. BancoPosta does not have a banking license and cannot directly provide loans to third parties, but is involved in the promotion and placement of public loans granted by banks and financial intermediaries. The bank services are available at all post offices in Italy.

References

  1. ↑ "Qual è la storia delle Poste" (in Italian). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Poste Italiane, il cda nomina Matteo Del Fante amministratore delegato" (in Italian). Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "Da Morgan Stanley Sgr a presidente di Poste Italiane: chi è Silvia Rovere, la "primogenita che non si è mai posta limiti"" (in Italian). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Annual Report 2023" (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  5. ↑ "Annual-Report-2021" (PDF). Poste italiane. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "Dalle Regie Poste al Postepay". La Stampa (in Italian). 22 November 2012.
  7. ↑ "Rivoluzione alle Poste parte la nuova spa". la Repubblica (in Italian). 1 March 1998.
  8. ↑ "POSTE SPA 'NIENTE PAURA PER GLI ESUBERI'". la Repubblica (in Italian). 10 April 1993.
  9. ↑ "Poste, il bilancio torna vicino al pareggio Passera: Non ho intenzione di lasciare". la Repubblica (in Italian). 11 October 2001.
  10. ↑ "Poste, ribaltone ai vertici". la Repubblica (in Italian). 27 February 1998.
  11. ↑ "Rivoluzione alle Poste parte la nuova spa". La Repubblica (in italian). 1 March 1998.
  12. ↑ "Grazie a Passera Poste italiane ormai risanate". la Repubblica (in Italian). 2 March 2002.
  13. ↑ "Le Poste comprano il corriere SDA". La Repubblica (in Italian). 12 June 1998.
  14. ↑ "POSTE: SDA STRINGE ACCORDO CON BARTOLINI E RILEVA QUOTA DEL 20%". adnkronos.com (in Italian). 15 September 1999.
  15. ↑ "comunicato" [Press Release] (in Italian). Poste italiane. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "UniCredit cede Mcc alle Poste". Il Sole 24 Ore (in italian). 21 December 2010.
  17. ↑ "UPDATE 1-Italy approves sale plans for post office, air traffic..." Reuters. 16 May 2014 – via www.reuters.com.
  18. ↑ "Poste Italiane: chiudono oltre 455 sportelli, lo annuncia l'AD Francesco Caio". Money.it. 17 March 2015.[ verification needed ]
  19. ↑ "Poste italiane chiude 455 sportelli. Matteoli: "Decisione inevitabile"". Il Secolo d'Italia (in italian). 11 March 2015.
  20. ↑ "Company Profile" (PDF). Poste Italiane. 2019.
  21. ↑ "Poste, il Mef divide le sue quote: il 35% va alla Cdp e il 30% finirà sul mercato". La Repubblica (in italian). 25 May 2016.
  22. ↑ "Tesoro conferisce il 35% di Poste a Cdp, il 29,7% sul mercato". Il Sole 24 Ore (in italian). 25 May 2016.
  23. ↑ "Poste Italiane, anche nel Reatino il 2022 si conferma anno record per i pagamenti digitali" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  24. ↑ "Poste Italiane, anche nel Reatino il 2022 si conferma anno record per i pagamenti digitali" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  25. ↑ "Roma, cambiano le Poste: lettere e plichi fino a sera" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  26. ↑ "Poste italiane potenzia la logistica per il boom dell'e-commerce" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  27. ↑ "Poste Italiane, accordo con Moneyfarm nella gestione digitale del risparmio (con ingresso nel capitale)" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  28. ↑ "Poste Italiane, accordo fino al 2024 con Cdp sul risparmio postale" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  29. ↑ "Sportello dedicato di Poste per F24 Imu, Tasi e Tari" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  30. ↑ "Poste lancia la sfida nel Danni" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  31. ↑ "Più pagamenti digitali è possibile? Dietro l'accordo tra Poste e la ex Lottomatica" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  32. ↑ "Poste Italiane diventa operatore telefonico" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  33. ↑ "Dalle transazioni alla telefonia mobile, Poste dà vita a un ecosistema di innovazione per favorire la transizione digitale" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  34. ↑ "Poste Italiane debutta su luce e gas. Prezzi fissi e bloccati per due anni" (in Italian). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.