"The year 2000, the last year of the second millennium, was one of our most successful for the Slovak Post. The main intentions and objectives in the economic and other areas were fulfilled. Next year, we shall do our best to approach more of our customers. We shall continue to provide quality and modern services in order that our share of the really satisfied customers can increase".
RNDr. Jaroslav Dobrotka, Director General.
 Introduction |
Slovenska Posta is a state owned company, providing distribution of letters, postcards, packages and financial transfers, including the electronic mail, in the area of Slovak Republic and international services. The headquarters of Slovak Post are in Banska Bystrica.
SLOVENSKA POSTA
"An innovative postal service"
- Customer oriented: customer orientation is a major Post's objective.
- New express services through EMS - Business Parcel: D+1 delivered the day after posting
- The first hybrid mail products: the E and U-type postal money orders. The use of advanced technologies for the quality of service improvement
- Innovative SAP R/3 Economic Information & Management System
- 'the logistics project': Transportation of postal items through road routes. Railway only for ordinary parcels
| POSTAL OPERATIONS |
Financial and banking services: E-type postal money orders: product making use of computing facilities and providing both customers and employees with a user comfort.
International Operations: Work in co-operation with 37 airlines and operate two offices of exchange on a daily basis by road routes
"Track and Trace system": scanning of the ingoing and outgoing PRIME priority items
The Ministry of Telecom has prepared a state postal policy. The postal services are very important for the whole economy of the country. The Slovak Post is obliged to provide some services in public interest. There are some private companies providing delivery services in Slovakia (UPS, DHL, TNT, WDS, TEN-express, Federal Express, In Time), who operate in the more populated localities with lower delivery costs, and they do not service the whole of the Slovak Republic.
They also specialize in next day delivery. Slovak Post, however covers the whole country, and provides the local postal services in all towns, cities and villages under a universal postal service.
Due to this, The Slovak Post looses parts of its revenues and has higher costs. The Slovak Post has therefore a state-guaranteed monopoly for all deliveries up to 350 g. Just at the present, a new Postal Act is being negotiated in the parliament. Slovakia has to harmonize its legislation in this area with the EU legislation (European directive 97/67/EC). It means liberalization of the postal market, with the exception of the so-called universal postal services, which will be still provided by the SP monopoly, establishing of the independent regulator, being a part of the common European market, transformation of SP to a state-owned joint stock company, etc.
The prices of postal services are regulated. This year, there was no change in the regulated prices, but SP can apply valorization (i. e. increase) of the prices according to inflation.
In the first five months of this year, the profit before taxes of Slovak Post was 364,9 million SKK, when total revenues were 2,43 billion SKK. The profit increased by 136,9 mil. SKK y/y, and revenues by 363 mil. SKK y/y.
Slovak Post plans to achieve the total profit before taxes for 2001 of 146,5 mil. SKK, and revenues of 5,6 billion SKK. According to analysts, the biggest profits of post are always done in the Q1 of the year, and are decreasing through the year. The goal of the company is to increase the profit after taxes (net profit) over 100 million SKK in 2000.
In the last year revenues increased from 4,88 bn SKK to 5,24 bn SKK. The achieved numbers were a bit lower than planned, but it is very important, that SP is successful in restructuring its claims portfolio from long-term claims. The trends to efficiency are also successful. This year, Slovak Post plans to improve its managing system and lower the number of administrative employees.
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The changes already touched 477 employees, who were offered other positions. The cost savings thanks to these changes will be up to 48,7 million SKK.
Top management of SP wants to create a flat, two-level organizational structure. The three regional headquarters should join the regional postal services centers and create 8 to 12 mid-level management centers. Slovak Post will be transformed to a joint stock company with a 100 % state stake, this process should be finished in the first half of the next year.
Slovak Post employs around 18000 people. Total assets of SP are around 6 bn SKK.
Slovak Post owns a 12,24 % stake in the Postova banka (Postal Bank), which is one of the last candidates for privatization in the Slovak banking sector. The government owns a majority stake in this bank. The main advantage of the Postal bank, although having problems with management and capital, is a huge network of branches, which are in most cases parts of the post offices of the Slovak Post.
 Strong critics of the new Postal Act |
According to some competitors of Slovak Post, the new Postal Act proposed by SP could liquidate some of the delivery services in Slovakia. They also say, that the Act proposal does not respect the EU legislation and EC directive. It does not define what is the postal service, universal postal service, or postal delivery. In this case, such companies as Railways of the SR, SAD, Slovak Airways would also be a postal services providers and would have to get rid of some of its services.
Slovak Post tried to define a "compensation fee" in the Act proposal, which should be paid by any competitor of Slovak Post who delivers anything up to 31,5 kg, even if Slovak Post refused to deliver this good. This compensation fee would help SP to remain in the black numbers forever.
Slovak Post has to provide the universal postal service - it means, to provide the postal and delivery services every day, even in the areas where they are not profitable. Because of this, it has a monopoly for all deliveries lighter than 350 g. The EU legislation tries to decrease this monopoly as much as possible - but in the Postal Act proposal, Slovak Post wants to increase the weight of these monopoly deliveries to 1 kg. This would for example even mean that only the Slovak Post could provide the delivery of pizza! The Antimonopoly bureau is also against this proposal.
| Telecoms Sector Reports Fastest Real Wage Growth again in August |
BRATISLAVA, October 10, (SITA) -- The average nominal monthly wage in August 2001 in Slovakia was higher than in August 2000 in all selected branches. It increased the most, by 20.3 percent, in the sector of postal services and telecommunications (9.9 percent in postal services and 31.1 percent in telecommunications) and in industry where the nominal monthly wages rose 8.8 percent. In wholesale business it climbed 8.6 percent and branches of real estates, renting and other public services reported an 8.1-percent increase. The lowest increase was reported in transport (1.9 percent), retail business, hotels and restaurants (3.1 percent) and construction (3.6 percent), the Slovak Statistics Office informed on Wednesday.
When development of consumer prices is taken into consideration, real wages were higher in postal services and telecommunications, up 11.6 percent, industry (0.9 percent), in wholesale business (0.7 percent) and in retail business, hotels and restaurants (0.3 percent). Real wages decreased in the branches of construction (3.9 percent), retail business, hotels and restaurants (4.4 percent) and transport (5.5 percent).
Since the beginning of the year, the average monthly nominal wage grew 14.8 percent y/y to SKK 15.234. In postal services and telecommunications wages grew to SKK 10,397 in postal services and to 21,349 SKK in telecommunications industry by 10 percent (SKK 12,872). In real estate, renting and other public services by 4.8 percent (SKK 12,388), transport by 4.9 percent (SKK 12,356), wholesale business by 11 percent (SKK 11,163), and in construction by 5.5 percent (SKK 10,680).
Retail business, hotels and restaurants posted the lowest average monthly nominal wage of SKK 8,680, up by only 1.6 percent y/y.
Technical and investment development: the renewal and innovation of the technical and technological facilities.
The quality of service of the international letter-post items attains the level corresponding the quality standards of the EU.
"The development program of the Slovak post": Modernization and development activities.
see table
A trend of the Slovak Post´s economy in the year 2000 can be assessed positively, based on its economic results. main goals and objectives in the economic area, stipulated in the Business Plan for the given year, were fulfilled.
During the whole year 2000, the Slovak Post was attaining the balanced economy and the year 2000 was terminated with positive economic result - profit before taxes in the amount 97,447 thousand SKK. Econiomical results of the Slovak Post are influenced by the need of creating of provisions in the past periods. |
