Powering a modern Switzerland Annual Report 2020 Powering a modern Switzerland Customer-centric, trustworthy, committed Foreword 2 Key events 4 7,054 million 178 million Board of Directors and 6 francs in operating income, francs in Group profit, Executive Management down 1.6 percent year-on-year. down 77 million francs year-on-year. Business results 8 Strategy 14 Markets 24 Logistics Services 26 1,706 million 191 million Communication Services 32 With a fall of 5.6 percent, the Thanks to booming online PostalNetwork 36 volume of addressed letters retail, PostLogistics delivered Mobility Services 40 declined again in 2020. 23 percent more parcels in Switzerland. 1 Swiss Post Solutions 44 PostFinance 46 Employees 50 Public service, society and 56 the environment 124 billion 127 million Five-year overview 63 francs, up by 3.3 percent, PostBus transported of key figures represents the level of average around 24 percent fewer PostFinance customer assets. passengers in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. P 81 points 30% Customer satisfaction is the CO2 efficiency remained at a high level, improvement over 2010 as in the previous year. achieved by Swiss Post by This Annual Report is supplemented by a the end of 2020. separate Financial Report (management report, corporate governance and annual financial statements), comprehensive Business Report key figures and a Global Reporting Initiative Index. Reference documents can be found on page 62. These documents are available in electronic format in the online version of the Business Report 1 For the new definition of parcel volumes, see the Financial Report, page 33. at annualreport.swisspost.ch. Swiss Post – more than just a company annualreport.swisspost.ch/downloads Swiss Post in numbers Swiss Post offers private and business customers high-quality products and tailored solutions for the national and international transport of letters, parcels, newspapers, (small) goods and promotional mailings. Swiss Post is also strengthening its role as an independent intermediary and applying the principle of mail secrecy to the digital world – for example, with e-voting and the electronic patient record. With a wide range of access points, PostalNetwork offers the densest network for postal 25% more e-mails encrypted services in Europe and is opening up its self-operated branches to third parties. with IncaMail PostFinance is accelerating the digital transformation, offering its customers solutions for digital money management and developing an independent Swiss comparison and sign-up platform for financing, insurance and retirement planning. PostBus aims to continue strengthening its position as the number one in road-based public transport in Switzerland and ensure that the Swiss public transport system remains attractive. 178 7,054 421 million francs million francs in million francs in Group profit operating income in investments Employee 54,364 22% satisfaction employees women in 73 (of which 47,966 management out of 100 points in Switzerland) roles More than 1,863 1,100 full-time 1,194 apprentices equivalents in IT branches with partners 14,451 letter boxes P 530 124 2,443 million vehicle 162 PubliBike stations vehicles kilometres business (PostBus) (PostBus) customer points 5,100 127 PubliBike bicycles million passengers (PostBus) 100% electricity from renewable sources 30% CO2 efficiency improvement since 2010 1,797 locations with a home delivery service More than 4.3 904 285,300 million customer 124 self-operated P.O. Boxes 50,000 accounts billion francs in branches patient records opened (PostFinance) customer assets in the Canton of Geneva (PostFinance) More than 191 million parcels 3,000 million documents processed each year by Swiss Post Solutions 46% 1,706 22 100% of all Swiss Post vehicles million addressed letters photovoltaic systems carbon-offset consignments use alternative drives 1,449 million unaddressed items 70,000 m2 of panel surface P Customer 7,600 183 satisfaction 8 Customer Service My Post 24 81 GWh of solar queries per day terminals out of 100 points power per year 2 Swiss Post Annual Report 2020 Foreword Urs Schwaller Roberto Cirillo Chairman of the Board of Directors CEO Dear Reader 2020 was a particularly challenging year for business- mediate and tangible significance in the everyday es of all sizes, for individuals of all ages and for poli- lives of the people living in this country. Almost all of cymakers. As it was for Swiss Post. Swiss Post’s units were pushed to As a company, Swiss Post is highly their limits, and some beyond. relevant to Switzerland. This has Swiss Post will Each and every employee worked been especially evident in this dif- with a sense of responsibility and ficult year, with all the challenges remain a company in a spirit of solidarity to ensure the coronavirus pandemic has that finances that the public service was provid- brought. Swiss Post has proven high-quality public ed in full for the benefit of the that it can be relied upon. While public and the Swiss economy. the restrictions on public life were services from its That deserves our respect and a in place, the important role that own resources. big thank you. Swiss Post plays for the country and for our customers became Urs Schwaller Last year, our mail carriers deliv- Chairman of the Board of Directors clear. The resilience of our organ- ered 1,706 million addressed let- ization and our ability to cope ters and more than 191 million with crisis were put to the test. During this period, parcels. PostBus transported 127 million passen- the concept of the universal service acquired an im- gers, and 2.7 million customers placed their trust 3 in PostFinance’s financial services. In the parcel seg- Swiss Post is and will remain a public service com- ment in particular, 2020 saw a record volume of items pany that provides the people and businesses of processed. And despite these major achievements, this country with the best postal services that ex- we could not avoid financial losses of more than tend well beyond the traditional universal service. 139 million Swiss francs as a result of the pandemic. This is confirmed by the comparison undertaken by the Universal Postal Union, which has again named The past year also marks the end of the four-year us “the world’s best postal service”. Swiss Post can 2017–2020 strategy period. Despite the challenges only ensure this quality of service in the longer term presented by the pandemic, we if it continues to develop and also developed a new strategy in consistently pursues its focus 2020. This maps out how Swiss Swiss Post can be relied on the future needs of the Post will continue its success upon, as we have proven Swiss public and economy. To story in the future. The new during the pandemic do this, we are building on our “Swiss Post of tomorrow” strat- traditional strengths and com- egy sets the course for guaran- crisis. The resilience and petencies and focusing on teeing that Swiss Post remains high quality of our prod- future-oriented areas in logis- relevant to Switzerland in the tics, communication, mobility years to come. It also addresses ucts and services was and financial services. These Swiss Post’s self-financing, and and is associated with will allow us to grow and make in particular the financing of significant investments. profits, which in turn can be in- our universal service obliga- vested in the future. We want tion. The high quality of our Roberto Cirillo to remain a company that fi- CEO products and services was and nances high-quality public ser- is associated with significant in- vices from its own resources. vestments. The positive results of recent years have given us a stable financial basis on which we can On behalf of the Board of Directors and Executive build. We live in fast-moving times, and it is not Management, we would like to thank all our em- enough to simply respond to events and new cir- ployees for their exceptional commitment in 2020. cumstances. We have to shape our own path and We would also like to thank our customers for the make investments that enable future growth. To confidence they place in us every day. do that, we have to take entrepreneurial risks and open up our cooperation models. Urs Schwaller Roberto Cirillo Chairman of the Board of Directors CEO 4 Swiss Post Annual Report 2020 Key events August 2020 Strengthening our position on the same-day market Order today, delivered tomor- row: to further strengthen its position on the growing same- March 2020 day market, Swiss Post acquired the remaining equity in notime PostBus – a systems leader in the coronavirus crisis AG, a technology firm provid- ing bicycle courier services. As the systems leader for road-based transport, PostBus is playing an active role as a coordinator on behalf of the Swiss Confederation during the coronavirus Page 27 crisis – the first time it has undertaken such a task. The project management team is in close contact with 150 Swiss transport companies. Page 41 March 2020 May 2020 Digital mailroom Four new digital services for flexible investment solutions working PostFinance added four digital invest- How can physical mail be deliv- ment solutions to its range of services ered within a company when for long-term asset growth. Investors employees are working from can carry out their securities transactions home? This is where the digitiza- autonomously online, receive compre- tion concepts provided by Swiss hensive personal advice or delegate Post Solutions come into play. their asset management entirely to PostFinance. Page 45 Page 49 5 March to December 2020 September 2020 Services guaranteed thanks to Investing in new unbelievable commitment digital communication They processed record volumes of parcels, delivered services letters and parcels to doorsteps day after day and were Swiss Post acquired a majority stake in KLARA available for customers at branches even during the Business Ltd.