The management of the current state-owned company plans to divide the Czech Post into a branch part – providing universal services ordered by the state – and into a commercial part within three years. According to Roman Knap, it builds on the current restructuring of the post office and an analysis of the cost of its components. The director of the post office emphasized that the company was inspired by the organization of the post office in the United Kingdom.
“It’s a trend we see all around as market liberalization progresses. Some services, which are named as basic services and the state pays for them from the budget, are fully liberalized and there is no reason for this to be included in the universal service, “said Knap.
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According to him, the division of mail into the delivery part and the branch network is planned for a long time. “It was preceded by a reconfiguration of the branch network and a change in the delivery system. This was also related to the abolition of almost three thousand partially vacant jobs last year, “added the director of the state-owned company.
Thanks to the promise of division, the post office will be better able to prepare for a future tender for postal license service operators from 2023, Knap believes. The year 2023 is also the date from which the new company should operate. Knap likened the planned move to the former division of the state-owned Czech Railways into carriers and railway infrastructure managers.
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Jan Hamáček stated that the separation of the functioning of postal branches and commercial services will not mean the closure of branches, the dismissal of employees or the privatization of part of the company. “The goal is for our citizens to be able to use their branches as they are used to,” he said. He described the network of postal branches as unique and especially for smaller towns and villages. “It simply came to our notice then. But it is not possible for the post office to pay for it itself, “said Hamáček. Places in shops and offices within the Pošta Partner project will also be preserved.
For example, parcel delivery is separated from branch operation. These earnings will not cover losses from counters. The post office could thus start competing with other delivery services. “The network will operate efficiently and will be maintained regardless of the competition raging on the liberalized logistics market,” Knap said.
At present, the state post office has to operate at least 3200 branches and ensures the delivery of letter items and some parcels throughout the territory. For this, it can demand the state to pay costs of up to 1.5 billion crowns. He last received this payment in 2017.
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According to the analyst, privatization must follow
According to Capitalinked.com economist Radim Dohnal, the division of business into universal service is rather the right step, but he himself considers it a prelude to privatization, which he considers necessary. “Since 2008, operating revenues have been in the range of 19 billion crowns to 20.3 billion crowns, although the revenues of e-shops have increased many times over this period. The Czech Post simply cannot do business well enough in this environment, “he said.
According to him, inspiration can also be sought in many developed countries of the world, where for decades the state post offices have been originally private and many even on the stock exchange.
Last year, Česká pošta ended in a loss of 1.382 billion crowns, which was a billion more than in the previous year. The company attributes more than half of last year’s loss to the negative effects of the covidu-19 pandemic. So far this year, it has an operating profit of 25 million crowns.
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