Deutsche Post ETR: DHL opened its 26th annual general meeting in Bonn with Supervisory Board Chair Katrin Suder welcoming shareholders in person and online. Suder, who said she was elected chair of the supervisory board a year ago, outlined the meeting’s sequence, including remarks from CEO Tobias Meyer, an update on the share buyback program from Miss Kreis, and a later discussion of a carve-out and acquisition agreement to be put to a vote under agenda item eight.
CEO highlights 2025 performance amid volatile trade conditions
In his prepared remarks, CEO Tobias Meyer framed the company’s role as enabling global trade “in good times and bad,” pointing to the long history of the group’s operations and brands, including the roots of German postal services dating to 1490, freight forwarding heritage connected to Danzas dating to 1815, and DHL Express originating from a U.S. courier business founded in 1969 and acquired by Deutsche Post more than 20 years ago.
Meyer said the group operated in a challenging environment in 2025, noting that “global trade grew only modestly” and citing “international tensions and trade conflicts,” including the impact of U.S. tariffs on major trade routes. He said the company met its forecast, while revenue was “slightly below the previous year,” attributing part of the decline to currency effects from a strong euro. Meyer reported:
- EBIT of EUR 6.1 billion, which he said was above the prior year
- Free cash flow (excluding acquisitions) of EUR 3.2 billion, also up year over year
Meyer credited the results to the company’s ability to keep its network flexible, adjust capacity to shipment volumes, and maintain cost discipline. He thanked the group’s “584,000 employees around the world” for their performance, citing roles across delivery, sorting centers, customer service, transportation, and network planning.
Network operations: managing storms, tariffs, and war disruptions
As part of the presentation, Meyer interviewed Stefanie Lotter, identified as an experienced network planning expert working in the DHL situation center in Brussels. Lotter said the center is staffed by “40 colleagues, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year,” monitoring aircraft positions, weather, and live news while managing multiple operational “levers,” including aircraft size and country risk planning.
Lotter described recent disruptions linked to war in the Middle East, saying airspace closures forced rapid adjustments and activation of contingency plans to use “open air terminals in the region.” She said that during the period, there were “only 2 air corridors left” between Asia and Europe, creating “traffic jams in the air,” but the company still managed to serve customers in the region.
She also discussed the impact of tariff changes on capacity planning, saying that when the U.S. introduced tariffs “in April of last year,” demand patterns shifted quickly and some China-to-U.S. volumes stopped, leaving capacity idle that “had to be replanned.” Lotter said the network also adapted by opening new trade lanes, citing a route from northern Vietnam to Europe.
Dividend proposal, buybacks, and share performance
Meyer told shareholders the company proposed increasing the dividend for 2025 to EUR 1.90 per share from EUR 1.85 in each of the previous three years. He said this would distribute “around 61% of the net profit” to shareholders. Meyer also said the company bought back shares worth EUR 1.4 billion during the year.
Discussing share performance, Meyer said the stock outperformed the global transportation industry and the German DAX index over the past year, which he described as a sign that markets recognized the company’s performance “even in a difficult global situation.”
Strategy 2030: sector focus, regional investment, and digitalization
Meyer said the company’s “Strategy 2030” serves as a longer-term compass in a turbulent world and is aimed at faster growth in targeted sectors and geographies. He highlighted the “new energy sector,” saying logistics demand tied to solar, batteries, and wind projects has increased, and that the company generated “a third more revenue in this area” in 2025 than the year before.
He also emphasized sustainability offerings, including the GoGreen Plus product, which allows customers to pay extra for lower-emission transport options by air, sea, or land. Meyer said demand for the offering was increasing “even in markets where the political mood may suggest otherwise.”
In life sciences and healthcare, Meyer described plans to build a “global logistics network for seamlessly refrigerated transportation along the entire supply chain,” with standardized monitoring and services from storage through delivery. He cited acquisitions in the area, including CryoPDP, described as a special courier supporting cell and gene therapies, and SDS Rx, described as a provider for fast pharmaceutical last-mile transportation.
On geographic expansion, Meyer said the group identified 20 countries expected to become increasingly important in global trade and geopolitics, including China, India, Brazil, Poland, and South Africa. He outlined investment plans including around EUR 1 billion in India, EUR 300 million in Africa, and over EUR 0.5 billion in the Middle East, adding that despite recent stress in the region, the company remained “convinced of its prospects.”
Meyer also detailed operational digitalization, particularly the use of artificial intelligence in customs clearance and customer service. He described a “new customs AI” that can read documents, extract key data, compare it with national customs rules, and flag inconsistencies for human experts. Meyer stressed that AI is “never an autopilot” and that final decisions remain with employees. He said customs AI had been deployed in three countries since March following testing.
He also described the use of robotics, including a robot called “Dexory” that uses computer vision to record warehouse inventory by moving autonomously through aisles with high-resolution cameras. Meyer said it can record “thousands of storage positions per hour,” reach heights up to 14 meters, and identify safety issues like shifted boxes. He said Dexory had been used in three countries—the U.S., the U.K., and the Netherlands—with more European deployments planned during the year.
German retail access and proposed group structure changes
Meyer presented the company’s new “Poststation” concept in Germany, describing it as an evolution beyond parcel lockers (Packstations). He said the company operates around 17,000 Packstations in Germany and now has more than 1,000 Poststations. Meyer described Poststations as “a full-fledged retail location” available 24/7 for parcel pickup and drop-off, purchasing postage, posting letters, and booking services such as registered mail, with options for remote consultation via an agent.
He said the rollout is intended to maintain service coverage as more stores close, particularly in rural areas, and emphasized that the latest generation of Poststations is designed to be accessible to the entire population.
Finally, Meyer said the company intends to adjust its group structure as part of Strategy 2030. He said the listed parent company would be called DHL AG in the future, with the five divisions responsible for day-to-day business. He added that Post & Parcel Germany would be turned into a separate legal entity aligned with the other divisions, and would “bear the proven name of Deutsche Post AG” as a subsidiary of DHL AG. Meyer said the changes would not disadvantage employees and that rights relating to wages, working hours, and protections would remain fully safeguarded, with no management changes. He said shareholders would be able to decide on the carve-out at the meeting and that he welcomed their consent.
Looking ahead, Meyer said the company expected geopolitical tensions and trade conflicts to continue affecting operations, but forecast EBIT exceeding EUR 6.2 billion for 2026 and free cash flow (excluding acquisitions) of around EUR 3 billion. He also referenced first-quarter 2026 results, saying EBIT rose significantly year over year and that margin and free cash flow improved, calling it “a good start to the year.”
After Meyer’s remarks, Suder thanked him and closed what she described as the “public part of the live broadcast.”
About Deutsche Post ETR: DHL
Deutsche Post AG operates as a mail and logistics company in Germany, rest of Europe, the Americas, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. The company operates through five segments: Express; Global Forwarding, Freight; Supply Chain; eCommerce Solutions; and Post & Parcel Germany. The Express segment offers time-definite courier and express services to business and private customers. The Global Forwarding, Freight segment provides air, ocean, and overland freight forwarding services; and offers multimodal and sector-specific solutions.
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