“Re-launching the express delivery services, reshuffling the territorial network and slashing expenses to drive the company to profit are the main priorities I have this year,” says Daniel Dumitru Neagoe, 42, in his first interview since he took the company’s helm in July 2010.
Posta Romana ended last year with turnover of EUR327 million, down 5.6% on the year, and with a loss of 121 million lei (EUR28.7 million), down RON60 million from 2009.
With a network of 7,000 postal units, many of them still using windows where people usually queue up, and using hand-written papers to notify mail recipients, Posta Romana is still the only postal company in Europe for which there is no “modernization investment money”.
While the company’s head says he is concerned about the way Posta communicates, he has not found any solution so far because “unfortunately the company does not have a lot of money for investment”.
He says he hopes at least he can stave off losses at the company by yearend, the more so as the disastrous figures it’s posted over the past two years stirred talk about bringing private management.
“Maybe if Posta turns into the black, no private management will be wanted. I was told, however, as all the managers of state-owned companies were, that the 4-year term contract I had was reduced to January 1, 2012”. He says that should there be a contest for the position of manager at Posta, he plans to participate.
Posta Romana posted further losses in the first half of 2011, but managed to halve them compared with the same period of last year. The company regstered a loss of RON35 million (EUR8.3 million) loss, as its turnover fell 7% in the first 6 months, to RON650 million (EUR154 million).
“Starting July, Posta went into the black from preliminary data. We hope we can cover first-half loss by yearend”. He stated contract have been signed that will drive the company to profit.
Posta holds just 3% of the express delivery services market, according to Neagoe. “We have a serious project of developing the express segment,” says Neagoe. “We will install a call center that will receive orders and we will develop the door-to-door delivery service which is not functioning properly at present,” he maintained. He specified notification would be made by phone.
Asked by ZF when the results of the express delivery segment will become visible, Neagoe maintained that “it’s difficult to focus when you embark on all directions at once, but in the upbeat scenario, “we may see the results in two months”. In the less upbeat scenario, the results will be seen starting next year”.
Neagoe also said that had Posta Romana started to do six years ago what all the European postal companies did ten years ago, “now the situation would have been different”.
Almost one third of the company’s turnover is brought by pension payment services (of RON520 million in 2010). The Labor, Family and Social Protection Ministry is the company’s main client.
The company has 34,000 employees and almost 70% of its expenses are with salaries. “We have to have nationwide distribution and presence and this is why the number of employees is high. Gradually, this is set to fall, but not suddenly”.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu; Editing by Radu Bostan)