TNT today reported fourth quarter 2015 revenues of €1,861 million, up 4.1% year-on-year, and an operating income of €57 million, compared to an operating loss of €53 million in the same period of 2014.
Revenues benefited from foreign currency effects and from a working day effect, but were negatively affected by lower fuel surcharges. Excluding all three items, underlying revenue growth was 3.0%.
The improvement is due to higher revenues and volumes overall, particularly from SMEs. Revenue growth in Europe more than offset the decreases in Brazil and China.
Fourth quarter operating income absorbed net one-off charges of €39 million, including restructuring charges of €11 million.
Excluding one-off charges, TNT’s adjusted operating income almost doubled from a year earlier to €96 million. Profitability was supported by revenue growth and successful efforts to reduce indirect costs. Outlook-related transition and project costs were €8 million during the period.
Capital expenditures amounted to €73 million (3.9% of revenues) compared to €86 million (4.8% of revenues) in the prior year.
The company’s net cash position at the end of December was €231 million compared to €449 million one year earlier. The decrease reflects the investments made as part of the Outlook strategy.
Tex Gunning, Chief Executive Officer, TNT said: “I am very pleased with our Q4’15 results. The implementation of the Outlook strategy is gaining momentum. We saw growth accelerating, particularly in our International Europe express business, and we realised a significant improvement in operating income.
"Service has improved noticeably, as evidenced by record customer experience scores. We are quickly making up for the lost ground in operational excellence by accelerating capital expenditure and outsourcing our Global Business Services and IT infrastructure.
"We expect further year-on-year improvements in adjusted operating income in full year 2016. Good progress has also been made towards closing of the FedEx offer to acquire TNT. Pre-integration planning is well on track and we are all looking forward to a bright future with FedEx.”