GROUP OPERATING RESULTS
Operating profit for the first nine months of 2017 amounts to €1,176 million, slightly down on the figure for the same period of the previous year (€1,196 million in the first nine months of 2016). This reflects reduced contributions from the Financial Services segment (down €99 million compared with the first nine months of 2016) and the Postal and Business Services segment (down €41 million compared with the first nine months of 2016), only partially offset by the positive contribution from the Insurance Services and Asset Management segment (up €120 million on the first nine months of 2016).
Profit for the period of €724 million (€807 million in the same period of the previous year) reflects an increase in finance costs (up from €14 million in the first nine months of 2016 to €81 million in the first nine months of 2017), reflecting the loss of €82 million resulting from the write off of the value of the Contingent Convertible Notes subscribed for by Poste Italiane in December 2014 and issued by Midco SpA. Further details are provided in the section on the Group’s financial position.
RECLASSIFIED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS
| for the nine months ended 30 September | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2016 | Increase/(decrease) | ||
| Postal and Business Services | 2,660 | 2,728 | (68) | -2.5% |
| Financial Services | 3,981 | 4,107 | (126) | -3.1% |
| Insurance Services and Asset Management | 19,458 | 18,725 | 733 | 3.9% |
| Other Services | 154 | 169 | (15) | -8.9% |
| Total revenue | 26,253 | 25,729 | 524 | 2.0% |
| Cost of goods and services | 1,765 | 1,809 | (44) | -2.4% |
| Net change in technical provisions for insurance business and other claims expenses | 17,916 | 17,449 | 467 | 2.7% |
| Other expenses from financial and insurance activities | 468 | 360 | 108 | 30.0% |
| Personnel expenses | 4,241 | 4,333 | (92) | -2.1% |
| Capitalised costs and expenses | (18) | (15) | (3) | 20.0% |
| Other operating costs | 292 | 158 | 134 | 84.8% |
| Total costs | 24,664 | 24,094 | 570 | 2.4% |
| EBITDA | 1,589 | 1,635 | (46) | -2.8% |
| Depreciation, amortisation and impairments | 413 | 439 | (26) | -5.9% |
| Operating profit/(loss) | 1,176 | 1,196 | (20) | -1.7% |
| Finance income/(costs) | (81) | 14 | (95) | n/s |
| Profit/(loss) on investments accounted for using the equity method | 12 | 7 | 5 | 71.4% |
| Profit/(Loss) before tax | 1,107 | 1,217 | (110) | -9.0% |
| Income tax expense | 383 | 410 | (27) | -6.6% |
| Profit for the period | 724 | 807 | (83) | -10.3% |
n.s.: non significativo
Total revenue of €26.3 billion is up 2% on the first nine months of 2016, primarily due to the previously mentioned positive performance of insurance services and asset management.
A more detailed look shows that Postal and Business Services contributed total revenue of €2,660 million, registering a reduction of 2.5% compared with the first nine months of 2016, due to a decline in traditional letter post, which is down 10.3% from 2,590 million items in the first nine months of 2016 to 2,324 million. Express Delivery and Parcel services continued to perform well, with volumes up 19.1% from 68 million items handled (corresponding to revenue of €461 million) in the first nine months of 2016 to 81 million items handled (corresponding to revenue of €502 million).
Total revenue from Financial Services is down 3.1% from €4,107 million in the first nine months of 2016 to €3,981 million. As mentioned above, the figure for the comparative period benefitted from non-recurring income of €121 million, following the sale of the investment in Visa Europe Ltd.. After adjusting for this item, revenue for the two periods is in line.
The Insurance Services and Asset Management segment contributed €19.5 billion to total revenue (€18.7 billion in the same period of the previous year), with premium revenue amounting to €16.4 billion (premium revenue of €15.4 billion in the same period of 2016). This represents a good performance for the period, given the decline in the Life market compared with the positive performance of 2016 (market data for new business to August 2017 shows a contraction of approximately 8% at national level).
Total revenue from Other Services, provided by PosteMobile, amounts to €154 million (€169 million in the same period of 2016). This marks a reduction due to a decline in mobile service revenue, reflecting tough competition in the market.